


Replace My Name (Maybe With Yours)

by JuliaCorvia



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: AU as of post ep 17, Camila is a good mom, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, amity gets a new mom, amity in the human world, an absurdly detailed focus on how glyphs work, crippling caffeine addiction, lots of fluff i promise, obvious vs oblivious pining, the Blight Parents are The Worst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 73,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26707255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaCorvia/pseuds/JuliaCorvia
Summary: After a rough night and an inevitable confrontation, Amity finds herself in the human world; given an opportunity to make up for lost time with Luz and maybe redeem herself from Grom.Luz is excited to have one of her best friends here with her, but why is she feeling so weird around Amity lately? and what was the deal with glyph magic anyway?Camila wants to have a normal day, but with two witches in training living in the house and a visit from the mysterious Eda on the horizon will she ever get it?Eda is bi and does crimes.AU as of post ep 17, but will incorporate the last couple episodes later on.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne/Camila Noceda, Emira Blight/Viney
Comments: 439
Kudos: 1183





	1. Conversations overdue

**Author's Note:**

> AU as of wing it like witches
> 
> Had this entire idea based around a joke you will read next chapter, and it turned into this.  
> Hope you all enjoy, and don't worry the angst is just in the set up, the fluff will resume shortly.

The setting sun cast beams of light through the cracks in the window as Luz sat on her bed, turning her phone over in her had. It had been one week since Luz had arrived back home from the Boiling Isles; with the end of summer forcing her to return back home in order to keep her mom from finding out that she had been missing from summer camp. Luckily Eda had managed to steal, ‘find’ if one trusted her words, a few cell phones so that Luz could keep in contact with her friends. Departing had been hard for her, she didn’t want to leave behind magic, the Isles, or the very first friends that she had eve made. However she had high school starting that very week, and she knew that if she didn’t go back her mother would worry herself sick over her.

Luz fell backwards on her bed, letting out a groan. Things had been awkward at home, with her mom and her both dancing around the topic of summer camp. She felt bad about not saying anything about camp, but it was so hard for her to talk about her friends without missing them, or being reminded about magic, or any of the things that she left behind through the portal. At least Eda said that she would try to find time to bring her over to the Isles for some weekends, Luz thought, it wouldn’t be all bad.

She watched motes of dust dance between the beams of light playing across her wall as she frowned slightly. The Boiling Isles had everything she had ever wanted, and coming back had hurt. Her stomach turned over as she thought about starting at a new school, memories of her old middle school making her frown. She really didn’t want to go through more of constantly heading to the principle’s office, forcing her mom to come and get her.

Rolling over she cracked open her laptop, determined to shake off her feelings by clicking through the pictures that she had taken while in the Isles. She had made sure that she took as many pictures as possible before she had to leave, as the laptop powered on to revel her background , two pictures in a small collage that were set right next to each other.

One was the Grom photo, all four of them grinning up at the camera, Luz smiling as she remembered the dance with Amity, the rush she felt while casting magic with her. Right next to that picture was a snapshot of the living room of the Owl House, everyone crammed together on the old sofa. Luz was sitting in the center of the couch, Eda on one side and Amity on the other while King posed dramatically on her lap. Gus and Willow were next to them, all of them with wide grins on their faces.

That photo had been taken the day before she had to go back, everyone had come over to the Owl House in order to give her a grand send off. The next morning had been rough, Eda handing out everyone phones before Luz went around making sure each of her friends got a long hug goodbye. It was hard to say goodbye, even for a small while, to her first real friends. Willow had given her a small plant, one that she swore was not dangerous for humans but Luz felt like it was watching her, and Gus had promised to visit often, the two of them making promises to visit all sorts of places in the human world. 

Eda had given her a cloak, an anti-magic cloak, because she was the apprentice to the greatest witch in the Boiling Isles, ‘and don’t you forget it kid’ Eda had said, ruffling her hair. King had popped up, parting with one of the members of his army, the stuffed bunny, one of his finest soldiers who was given orders to keep Luz safe, and who was sitting on her bed right now. 

Then it had been time to say goodbye to Amity, and oh boy was that hard. Luz had wrapped her up in a hug and Amity mumbled out that she would miss Azura book club, and even Luz. She pressed a folded piece of paper into Luz hands as she turned away, her face pointed down at the floor. The gift had been a hand drawn picture of Luzura, one that was hanging on her wall currently, Luz casting the photo a fond glance. 

A knock startled her out of her thoughts as her mom’s voice came through the door, “Mija,” Camila called out, “Can I come in.” 

Luz snapped her laptop shut and sprung up on the bed, “Yeah mom come in.” 

Camilia entered the room, seeing Luz sitting on her bed with an obviously strained smile. She could tell that something was wrong with Luz, the past week had been hard on her, and every time Camilia had tried to ask her a question about summer camp she seemed to clam up. 

She sighed inwardly as she sat down next to her daughter. Guilt had been eating away at her stomach since she had sent Luz to camp, she seemed so different now, seemed to shy away from all the things that made her Luz. 

“Mija,” she started, gathering up her thoughts, “I wanted to apologize.”

“What,” Luz turned to look at her, a confused expression on her face. 

“I shouldn’t have sent you to camp,” Camilia said, Luz blinking in confusion, “I was worried about you, with middle school being so hard for you to get through and you about to enter high school I wanted to try to help you, because I remember how hard it was for me” her mouth turned down slightly, “But I was wrong, I should have tried to find an outlet that was right for you, not something that I wanted for you. Something that would let you express yourself,” a small grin appeared on her face as she put her arm around Luz, “spider gyphons, backup snakes, and all.” 

Luz felt frozen for a moment, her brain racing as she sat stunned, finally jolting from her thoughts as she hugged her mom, gripping onto her tight as she felt the fears that had been brewing inside her since Grometheus start to fade away. 

“Lo siento,” Camilia said, wrapping her arms around Luz, “lo siento.” 

The two stayed sitting for awhile, both of them feeling a bit better after their talk. Luz pulled away, looking at her laptop before turning to her mom. “I took lots of pictures.” She said with a small smile. 

Camilia sat next to her, keeping one arm wrapped around her shoulders, “I would love to see them mija.” 

Luz smiled, turning around and pulling the laptop over, opening it up to show the two pictures in front of her. “This is Miss Eda,” she said, starting to ramble as she got caught up in her explanations, going through each person in turn.

Miss Eda, who seemed to be the kids camp councilor, a mentor for Luz who seemed to encourage her interests and let her be as wild as she wanted. King, a small dog, that Luz said they liked to dress up in cosplay. Gus and Willow she talked about with breathless joy, Camilia’s heart melting as Luz described her two friends, who seemed to accept her with ease, the three of them packing as much fun into the summer as possible. 

“And this is Amity.” Luz said, pointing at a green haired girl, Camilia noticing how the girl in the photo seemed to be blushing with the mear proximity to Luz. “She also likes Azura, we had a book club together.” 

“Oh really,” Camilia said, catching the look on Luz face, letting her talk about her friend. “Yeah we even went to this dance thing together, and played sports, it was really nice,” Luz’s face softened as she went on to describe all of the things that she had gotten into over the summer with her friends. 

Camilia smiled, glad to see that Luz was starting to open back up, hoping that she would have the chance to meet all of these people sometime soon. Especially this Amity Blight, who seemed to be able to make her daughter even more excited then normal.

— 

It had been a full month since Luz had left the Boiling Isles, and Amity was feeling the full effect of her best friends absence. If she could even call herself Luz’s best friend, she told herself, sighing as she glanced back and forth from her home work and her book bag, knowing that her phone was stored in there, and that she should be getting a call from the Luz soon. 

The two of them had been calling each other every night for most of the time that the human girl had been gone, the daily conversations keeping Amity from crumbling from the pressure at home. 

Luz’s departure from the Isles had coincided with her parents starting to push her back into being the proper Blight daughter. Her mother had been leaving green hair dye on the bathroom counter, a subtle reminder that her roots were showing, if the small comments that she made every morning didn’t make that clear enough.

Her slight slip in grades, caused by her trying to cram in as much time as possible with Luz before her crush left for the human world, had driven her parents to start walking into her room at random times to check to make sure she was on task, forcing Amity to try to find new places to hide her phone and diary. Their random checks had only heightened the sense of anxiety that rumbled in her gut every time that she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. 

“Amity,” Her mother’s voice echoed from downstairs, causing her to flinch, “Come down stairs.” She sighed, getting up and glancing around to make sure that she hadn’t left anything out for her parents to find. 

The creaking of the stairs seemed much too loud as she made her way down to the large living room, her mother and father both sitting on the couch. The fireplace cast dark shadows behind them, the stern looks on both of her parents causing her stomach to flip as she tried to still the nervous tapping of her fingers.

She slowly made her way in front of the couch, feeling herself shrink in front of the emotionless stares that her parents were giving her. 

“We are worried about you Amity,” her mother started, Amity inwardly recoiling at the tone of her voice, the words like ice seeping into her veins. “We heard from Mrs. Clawthorne,” her mother continued, Amity growing pale as her knees started to shake slightly. 

“You haven’t been showing up to practice with her, and she was very worried about who you have chosen to associate with.” Her father cut in, leaning forward slightly, their glares making her feel cornered. “Do you have any explanation for why you have skipped your lessons with her?”

“Li.. Lilith made me cheat,” Amity stammered out, “I didn’t want to work with someone who would sink to that level.” 

Her father raised his eyebrow, “Regardless of your personal feelings, she is still the leader of of the Emperors Coven, and a powerful witch in her own right.” He waved off her concerns easily, “And even putting all of that aside,” he paused looking over at Amity’s mother, who sighed and reached into her purse, pulling out Amity’s phone and a few pieces of paper, Amity’s eyes widening as she recognized the pages as pieces from her diary. 

“The behavior in here is unbecoming of a Blight,” her mother said, slowly crumpling up the paper, each noise making Amity shrink back. “A Blight, being friends with known criminals,” The paper was set alight by a simple fire spell, causing a whimper from Amity. 

“A Blight, associating with lesser witches,” Her mother continued, turning the phone around in her hands, the screen lighting up to show Amity’s background, a picture of her and Luz reading together. “A Blight, showing affection for a human.” She said, snapping the phone in half, Amity jerking forward, her hand outstretched as if trying to save her connection to Luz. 

The two halves of the phone hit the ground, Amity standing there shocked as her father stood up, walking around and placing a hand on her shoulder. “Now,” he said, leaning down and speaking in a low tone, “You have to know that this hurts us as much as it does you.” Both of their faces were blank, cold,and emotionless as ice, as cutting as their voices as Amity felt her heart pound against her chest. 

“Since this is all done, you can resume your studies, your apprenticeship, and your old social group.” Her mother said, the words cutting deeper into Amity, her breath growing shorter and more rapid. “We can even introduce you to some more, proper suitors,” she said with a sneer, “Really now, we have done so much for you, this is honestly the least you can do to repay us for all of our kindness.” 

A hand clapped down on Amity’s shoulder, the unexpected contact making her tense up as her father stepped away, “I hope you understand this is all for your own good. As a Blight. As our daughter.” 

Those words echoed in Amity’s head, time seeming to slow down as her mouth dried out, her mind was caught in between her parents words and thoughts of the summer that she just had. She made friends, she was able to express herself, she got to be seen as Amity. Not Blight, Amity. The three words echoed through her head, Blight or Amity. Blight or Amity. 

Her eyes darted back and forth between her parents, something in her mind snapping into place as she turned and bolted up the stairs. Her parents yells followed her up the stairs, her breath ragged as she tried to keep away a panic attack. She bolted into her room, grabbing her book bag and rifling through it. Her books, scroll, and the rest of her diary were there, she realized, letting out a sigh of relief. 

Footsteps echoed up the stairs as her parents called out for her, Amity making the split decision to run, grabbing a few of the books that she brought from the library and a small jar of abomination goo. She flung open the window, summoning a larger abomination from the jars in her room, the goo flowing out as her jars tipped over, her emotions fueling her rushed spell. 

“Abomination, rise!” she ordered, scrambling to perch on the windowsill, grabbing her box of mementos and stuffing it into her book bag. Her parents burst into the room, her mother starting to draw a spell circle as Amity drew a large breath. 

“Abomination!” she yelled, throwing herself out of the window, “Catch!” She plummeted towards the ground, her fall interrupted as she was caught by her abomination, still roughly tumbling to the ground as she quickly dismissed her spell, most of the purple goo flowing into the ground as some jumped back up and into the smaller ornate jar that she had in her hands. 

“Amity Blight!” her mother’s voice echoing across the lawn, “Get back here right now.” Amity did not stop to listen, instead turning towards the woods and bolting towards the tree line, trying to put as much space as she could between her and the mansion. 

The yelling faded as she burst through the hedges and into the trees, her mind racing as she ran through the woods, her legs carrying her to the only place that she could think to go; The Owl House. 

— 

Luz frowned at her phone, hoping that her frustrated glare could fix her problems. The TV played in the background, her mother relaxing on the couch next to her. 

She had gone to call Amity, excited to tell her all about her day at school, and the announcement of book six of the Good Witch Azura, but she hadn’t been able to get through for a while. The first few calls had resulted in the no one answering and the last couple tries had resulted in an error message. 

“Mija, mija are you there.” Luz shook her head, turning to her mom with a sheepish expression. 

“Sorry mom,” she said, turning in her seat to look over at her mom, “Just kinda distracted.” 

“Is it anything at school?” Camilia muted the TV, looking over to Luz. 

Luz squirmed a bit, her nervousness expressing itself, “No school is fine, I just can’t get a hold of Amity.” She sighed, “We always call each other at night…” she said softly, Camilia barely hearing her. 

Amity Blight had become a household name in the few days since they last talked, Camilia wondering if Luz even realized how much she brought up the green haired girl. She figured that she knew more about this mysterious girl than everyone else from her camp combined. Amity likes spicy food, Amity likes sports, ‘mom Amity is the top student at her school she is so smart’. 

“I am sure that she is just working on homework,” or maybe she had to do something with her parents. Luz flinched a bit at those words, Camilia raising her eyebrows slightly. That was the other fact that she had picked up on, Luz never talked at all about Amity’s parents. It was almost as if there was a large black hole there, something that was not meant to be talked about. 

“Maybe,” Luz said, “I just hope she is okay. I’ll have to call her tomorrow, or ask Willow to let me know what happened when they have school.” 

She hopped up, stretching as she moved towards the stairs, “I’m going to work on homework,” she called, heading up the stairs, unable to quell the slight worrying in her brain about her friend. 

— 

Eda was lounging on the couch, tossing the sparkling pen that Luz had given her up and down. There were beakers scattered across the table in the room, ingredients boiling as they went through several tubes, traveling beaker to beaker, Eda waving her hand occasionally as the potions mixed themselves, various ingredients dropping in at different stages. She had finally figured out the recipe for the curse elixir, and had been able to get enough materials to make a steady supply, or enough not to turn randomly. 

Her work was interrupted by a frantic knocking on the door, and Hooty’s voice, “What’s the password.” 

Eda sighed as Owlbert flew onto her shoulder, walking through the living room as she heard someone shouting at the door. “Open up you blasted bird thing,” the voice said, Eda smirking as she opened the door. 

The Blight kid was standing on the doorstep, clutching several items to her chest, her face red with anger. She looked up at Eda, her voice trailing off as she tried to straighten up and stammering out an introduction. 

Eda took in the girl, noticing that she was clutching books to her chest, her hair down with noticeable tear tracks running down her face.

She sighed to herself, she had figured something would happen like this, with the girl following Luz around like a lost puppy she had figured that something was wrong at home. Knowing Odelia nothing good could happen in the Blight Manor.

Amity shifted foot to foot on the doorstep, clearly waiting for something. Eda smiled to herself, well, she thought, at least this one had spunk, and if she was coming here then she really didn’t have any other place to go. 

“Alright kid,” she said, Amity almost coming to attention, “I don’t usually take in slackers but I’m down an errand girl and need someone to dive into my human garbage.” She stood aside from the door, catching the relieved look on Amity’s face as she stepped inside the Owl House.


	2. What you Only Write in Your Diary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity has her first run ins with the human world, with varying outcomes

A strange almost bitter smell woke Amity up, blearily rolling over, and spilling onto the floor. She grumbled as she stood up, surprised to hear a matching grumble from the arm of the couch, turning sleepily she saw the small demon, King, her brain supplied still half asleep, curled up and still asleep.

The day old cloths felt itchy on her skin, the sudden wake up she had just had not helping dispel the fog from her brain. Taking a deep breath and trying to wake herself up, she caught another whiff of that strange smell, almost luring her into the kitchen as she stumbled in, blinking at the sudden bright light streaming through the windows. 

“Hey kid,” Eda said, leaning on the counter as a small machine sputtered away at something next to her. 

Amity gave a grumble in greeting, making her way over to the elder witch, leaning on the counter across from her. Her tired mind finally caught up to her reaction to Luz’s mentor. “Sorry,” she said meekly, flinching as she remembered all of the times that she had been scolded by her mother in the morning for not giving a proper greeting, “Good morning Mrs Eda.” She said, trying to correct her mistake.

Eda raised her eyebrow, Amity feeling her breath catch a bit as she stammered out an excuse, “I was tired and didn’t mean to be rude.” She cast her eyes downward, her mind starting to spiral out of control. It’s been one night, she mentally kicked herself, one night and you are already going to get kicked out and sent back. 

“-mity, hey Amity.” Eda shook her gently, snapping Amity out of her thoughts. “Jeez kid they did a number on you huh?” Eda said, pulling a set of three mugs from the counter once she had gotten the small witch’s attention. “Seems Odalia hasn’t changed since Hexside.” 

“You knew my mother?” Amity choked over the words. 

“Yeah she was a pain in the ass, you’re fine kid. If Luz trusts you then you probably aren’t that bad.” Eda laughed as she took the pot from the machine, pouring the mysterious liquid into one of the mugs, Amity staring at the substance quizzically, consciously trying ignoring what she had heard. “Its coffee.” Eda said in response to the unasked question, “Luz told me about it and I managed to get my hands on some. Jump starts a witches bones in the morning like nothing else. Also,” she said with a sly grin, “watch this.”

She poured a second cup and turned towards the main room, “Hey Mr. Wiggles, I’m drinking your coffee.” She yelled and leaned back, shooting Amity a wink. 

A squeak of rage came from the main room, King stomping into the kitchen, as he scrambled up onto the counter, posing dramatically before pointing at Eda. “How dare you, the King of Demons demands his daily sacrifice. You drink that and I will unleash my forces against you.”

“Ahh the adorable noises of unbridled rage,” Eda said, the two of them launching into a back and forth argument. Amity relaxed as the attention was taken off of her, walking over and looking at the rest of the coffee in the glass container. Eda, still arguing with King, pushed the empty mug towards her, Amity taking that as permission. She filled up her mug and lifted it up, the smell making her ears twitch slightly. 

Cautiously raising the mug to her lips she took a small sip, the hot liquid immediately making her relax. The taste was bitter, but unexpectedly nice. A few moments later she felt her bile sac almost jump, shocking her body as her pupils widened, her ears twitching as the liquid settled, a hot warmth settling into the pit of her stomach. 

“Woah,” she said, looking up from her cup and seeing Eda and King looking at her. 

“Its a kick huh,” Eda said, draining the rest of her cup and giving a large sigh. “Luz said something about not being allowed to drink it, but she brought it up one day when I had stayed up all night trying to brew up an elixir, said it was something her mom used when she needed to work.” 

Amity bravely copied Eda, draining the rest of the mug as the warmth spread through her body. A content smile spread across her face before she felt her hands vibrate, a few spare magical sparks leaking out through her fingertips. The sensation of her bile sac twitching was new, as she felt her ears and fingers twitch uncontrollably. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, it actually woke her up more than any tea or drink had, her brain racing as her felt more connected to her magic, the feeling reminding her of the witches duel and the power glyph that was lending her strength. 

Eda slapped her back and laughed, “First time is always the wildest,” she said as King nodded, the small demon clutching his cup as he took small sips. “This stuff makes your bile sac run wild, I’ve been thinking of trying to sell it at the market, but I haven’t been able to get a reliable supply. Trash only gets a girl so far you know.” 

“Do you think this is okay to drink? I mean if Luz said her mom didn’t allow her to drink it, it might not be safe. What does it even do to humans if it does this much for witches?” Amity said, feeling herself wishing that she had more to drink, feeling herself relax slightly. 

“Luz drank it once, I think after staying up all night trying to figure out spells. No real problems except the kid was bouncing all over the house for hours.” Eda said, moving around the kitchen and starting to pull food out for breakfast. “Either way,” she popped an apple on the crook of her elbow towards Amity, the teal haired witch barely managing to catch it, “I don’t know if I should try to sell this stuff, because I am pretty sure that eventually the covens would come down hard my operation, because this feels like some of the trips I used to have doing solar dust and I don’t need any more heat on me right now, no matter how strong this stuff is.” 

Silence fell over the kitchen as Amity’s eyes widened, “Oh stars I might have done human drugs,” Amity said, fiddling with the fruit in her hand, imagining the glares of her mentor and her parents if they found out that she had done something to boost her magic. “Oh Azura, I’m a delinquent.” 

“Yeah you are!” Eda yelled encouragingly, “Welcome to the bad girl coven.” 

“We have T-shirts.” King chimed in, kicking his feet back and forth as he sat on the counter, loudly slurping on his coffee. 

Amity didn’t know if it was the repressed adrenaline from finally running from her parents control, or the influence of this strange coffee drink, but she found herself smiling. She turned to Eda, biting into the apple and holding out her hand. “Do I get a shirt?”

—

The sound of the lunch bell broke Luz from her stupor, the sound of the rest of the class packing up and the scraping of chairs on linoleum startling her into action as she grabbed her things. The first 4 periods of the day had flown by, Luz trying to resist the urge to check her phone every few minutes to see if she had any updates from Amity or Willow. 

Dropping into the grass on the front of school Luz checked her phone, growing excited to see a message on her phone. She hurriedly unlocked it, opening up the message from Willow.

Willow: Amity wasn’t at school today, and the twins were here earlier but they looked off. 

Luz moved fast as she dropped her lunch, scooting back as she rested her back against a tree as she hit the call button on Willow’s contact. 

A few rings met her, Luz’s leg bouncing in anticipation as the call went through. “Hey Luz!” Willow yelled, her voice cut off by a loud roar and a few screams in the background. 

“Is everything okay?” Luz said, hearing the chaos in the background and feeling a pang of homesickness, “What do you mean Amity wasn’t at school she loves school.” 

“I don’t know,” The roars cut off as a door closed, Willow letting out a sigh of relief, “the twins looked really out of it today, and I can’t reach her scroll either. Gus was going to try to talk to Edric later today in class about it if he can.” 

“I’m worried.” Luz bit her lip, idly plucking at blades of grass. “She never misses our good night calls.” 

A snort of laughter came over the phone, and Luz was sure she could hear Willow mummer ‘I bet’ before she coughed. “I mean I am sure that everything is fine, I can go over to Eda’s later today and try to see if she can help, I need to ask her anyway about using the portal so that we can visit you. My dads finally agreed to let me come over.” 

Joy cut through Luz’s worry for a moment, pumping her fist. Eda had agreed to try to figure out some way for everyone to visit each other, and had been gradually working to figure out a plan so that Luz didn’t have to wait 4 months or even another year to see her friends. 

Another roar, loud even muffled through the closed door, came from the phone. “Oh, what is that?” 

“Remember how we potted those mandrakes in class.” 

“Yeah.” 

“And do you remember your idea to draw a plant glyph on the bottom of our pot.” Another roar came from the phone, the sound of broken wood and a faint yell that sounded like their instructor coming from the phone. “And name our project.”

“Jeremy? You mean thats Jeremy?” 

A long sigh came from the phone, punctuated by the sharp snap of wood breaking, “Yes Luz.”

“I am such a proud parent.” Luz said, whipping fake tears from her eyes, “They grow up so fast.”

“Dork,” Willow laughed, before a particularly close crash was heard, “I am going to go figure out how to get a handle on this. I’ll check in with Eda later today, and see if we can’t get any information from the twins.” Her voice took on a teasing quality, “We wouldn’t want you to miss another good night call would we.” 

“Definitely not.” The shift of tone went over Luz’s head as she wished her friend luck on her quest and turned back to her lunch. She pulled her binder out of her backpack and started going through her homework for the day, shifting through the papers and various sports pamphlets, the one for cross country catching her eyes. She figured that she had spent enough time running from monsters in the Isles that maybe she could do pretty good at sports. 

The thought of sports made her reflect back on Amity, briefly thinking about getting matching letterman jackets. She had found herself thinking about the teal haired witch a lot lately. I hope you are good Amity, she told herself, trying to dive back into her work and distract herself from the strange feeling in her stomach.

—

The large ‘Bad girl coven’ shirt made Amity much happier than she thought it would as she fiddled with the hem of the shirt, idly picking at it and flapping the sleeves, enjoying how large the shirt was on her. There was a comfortable silence in the room, Amity trying to gather up the courage to explain what had happened the night before. 

“You know I ran away from home myself,” Eda cut in, Amity whipping her head up in surprise. “Come on are you really that shocked? Lily and me didn’t get along after she got into the Emperor’s Coven for some reason, and my parents were pressuring me to try to do something else for the family,” she paused for a moment and tapped her chin, “well that or hide me away forever because of my curse.” 

“You’re cursed?” Amity asked, “How?” 

There was a pause as Eda gave her an evaluating look, before shrugging, “Well if you are gonna be digging through human trash for me I can tell you about my trash, probably.” Eda explained her her curse, and the elixirs that had been keeping it at bay, Amity shifting to lean in, engrossed by the story. Her eyes wide, flashing back to the potions that she had seen Eda brewing the night before, that must have been what that set up was for.

“And you don’t know who did it?” Amity asked at the end of the explanation, “I mean that is a really powerful curse, there aren’t that many powerful witches in the isles.” 

“Tell me about it,” Eda grumbled, “Damn curse saps my magic like nothing else. Plus I have no idea who did it.” She stood up, cracking her back as she stretched. “I can hold it off, but it takes so much of my time, and the Coven is trying harder to get to me, so I need someone to make runs to the human world for me.” 

Amity twitched in her seat, desperately resisting the urge to raise her hand. Eda smirked, “This would also mean that you could potentially run into a certain human when you are over there.”

A flush spread across Amity’s face, stuttering as she tried to come up with an answer, failing and sitting there fiddling with her hands.

Hooty’s voice broke the awkward silence, both witches flinching at the grating noise, “Hoooot. It’s the other green haired girl.” Eda and Amity looked at each other before Eda cocked her head, Amity moving aside as Eda went to answer the door. 

“Look door thing, just tell me if Mittens is here okay.” The voice came through the door, Amity perking up in recognition as Eda swung the door open, revealing Emira standing there with her finger pointed accusingly at Hooty. “Oh,” she put her finger down, going on her tip toes trying to see behind Eda’s shoulders, “Hey Mrs Owl Lady, is Mittens here?” 

Amity sighed as she stepped out, giving her sister a small wave as Emira pushed past the doorway, wrapping her up in a hug as she let out a relieved sigh. “Thank titan I found you first.” 

“What do you mean first,” Eda closed the door, not letting her guard down. 

“Listen I don’t have much time,” Emira pulled away, looking at Amity, “Edric is covering for me right now, but I had to come.” She took a deep breath before drawing a magical circle, a duffel bag popping out of it and landing with a dull thump next to her. “Mother and father were furious when you ran yesterday, and me and Edric over heard them this morning.” She clenched her jaw, looking around like there might have been some one watching, “They talked to Mrs Clawthorne about finding you, and bringing you back home. They want, they…” the words stuck in her throat before she almost spit the rest of the words, “They want to send you to the conformitorium. They think that they can change you back into the perfect daughter.”

Amity paled, her hands shaking as she stared in disbelief as Emira kept talking, “I managed to sneak back in when we went to school, I just, I heard so much from Viney about that place that I will not let anyone send my sister there. I grabbed some of your books and some cloths.” Her smile was watery as pulled away, “I know me and Ed haven’t always been the best, but I couldn’t stand by and not do anything.” 

“Shit,” Eda said, her words startling Amity into action, lunging forward and giving her sister another hug, clutching onto her uniform and trembling slightly. “Shit,” Eda repeated for emphasis, running her hand through her hair. “Alright kid, I have an idea. Lily will try to find you here, and if I let you go to the conformitorium Luz is gonna kill me, so, what if we sent you to Luz.” 

Both Blights looked at her in confusion, “Hear me out, no one is going to think about looking for a witch in the human world, hell I can count the number of people who know I have a portal one one hand.” She narrowed her eyes slightly, “Okay maybe two now, but still, even if they figure out where you went they won’t know where to find Luz, it’s the perfect way to hide you until this whole thing can blow over.” 

The two Blights shared a look, Emira nodding slightly, “Me and Edric can create illusions running around town every so often, throw them off your tail.” 

“Alright.” Amity’s voice was soft and hesitant, fear coursing through her as she looked up at the older witches, “You’re both right, I can’t risk staying here,” she said with a long shaky sigh, “Just let me make sure I have all my things.” The group nodded as they started to move around the room, Eda sending Owlbert to grab the key for the portal. “And,” Amity’s voice made everyone turn and look at her, “I’m going to need another cup of coffee.”

— 

The human world was right beyond the portal, Amity could look through and see a glimpse of strange houses through the trees, causing her to clutch onto the strap of her duffel bag tightly. Eda stood next to her, one hand on her shoulder, and Emira was pacing in the background, rambling nonsense into her scroll at Vinery, seemingly just as affected by the coffee as the rest of them. 

“Alright kid,” Eda said, placing both hands on Amity’s shoulders, “ready for the human world?”

“Nope.” 

“Heh, thought so.” Eda rummaged around in her head before pulling out some scraps of green paper, shoving into Amity’s hands. “Alright so sometimes Owlbert brings me back wallets the little thief, and here is all the human snails that I managed to save up.” Amity riffled through the collection, staring at the stack with interest. 

“Why do they have human faces on them,” she asked, holding one up to the light and peering at it. 

“Humans,” Eda nodded sagely, as if that would explain everything that Amity needed to know about the subject. “Well alright kid, come back here in a week if you are still alive and try to find Luz will ya.” Amity was given a small push as she stepped through the door, feeling her arm sting for a moment and passing it off as an accident as she turned around and looked through the portal at her home dimension. 

“Don’t die!” Emira yelled, before turning back to her scroll, the rapid pace of her conversation only increasing. 

“And tell Luz that King misses her,” Eda said with a half smile, the small demon stomping at her feet. 

“I do not!” he yelled, “But if you find her tell her that my army misses her.” He bolted out the door and passed a small stuffed rabbit to Amity, the teal witch slipping that and the bundle of human snails into her bag. 

“For Luz,” she whispered to herself, giving the residents of the owl house a wave, she turned towards the woods and stepped forward. 

—

Camila yawned as she drove from work, feeling the effects of her long shift at work. The hospital had been stretched very thin lately, and she found herself having to go into work earlier and earlier. It did mean that she was able to get off early enough to pick up Luz from school. 

She turned onto the main street, humming along to the music in the car, when she saw a teenage girl step out into the street in front of her. She slammed on the breaks, turning the wheel harshly, gritting her teeth as the girl looked up, frozen in the street as the car skidded to a stop right by them. She hopped out of the car, cursing to herself in Spanish as she ran toward the girl. 

“What were you thinking,” she paced forward, pulling short of the girl in front of her. 

The girl seemed to almost shrink under her gaze and her raised voice, Camila taking a moment to calm herself down before trying to approach the girl again. She had teal hair, with the hints of brown roots showing. She was wearing a beanie and a very baggy shirt with pink leggings. She had a duffel bag slung across her back, and was staring at the car with a confused expression. 

“I’m sorry,” the girl stuttered out, “I didn’t see you coming, and I’m kind of lost, and oh gosh what is that.” Camila took in her dazed look and confused expression, her frustration melting away into concern. 

“Do you need help,” she asked. 

The girls eyes seemed to light up, Camila noticing that she had gold eyes, “Yes! I mean, if you don’t mind that would be nice.” She looked to the side and shuffled her feet, “I have snails if you need some.” 

A laugh came from Camila, the statement somehow reminding her of Luz, bringing snakes to everyone in the neighborhood. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick message to Luz, letting her know that she was going to be unable to pick her up from school. She opened the back door to the car and gestured for her to get in, the girl hesitantly stepping forward and giving the car a glare. 

“It can’t hurt you if it isn’t moving,” the words made the girl jump as she sheepishly made her way into the car, Camila grateful that it was only a minute drive away from her house.

—

Luz was waiting outside of school when her phone buzzed, pulling it out with hope that quickly faded when she saw a message was from her mom, telling her to take the bus home or walk because she had run into a problem getting home and had to help someone. 

Despite her slight disappointment a smile crossed her face. Well, more time to try to find woodland creatures, she thought. Taking off on the trail that would take home through the woods. It was only a short walk anyway and she could use more running time if she wanted to join any sport. 

She started to walk down the path, lost in thought, her mind constantly pulled towards the Boiling Isles as she stopped to sit on a log. Pulling out her phone she idly swiped through her pictures, finally settling on one that she had taken during one of her and Amity’s secret Azura book club meetings. The two of them had been so wrapped up in the book that they almost fell asleep practically on top of each other. 

Luz’s expression softened into a smile looking at the witch. She hoped that Amity was okay or just sick, and not that she had decided to stop talking to her. A small voice in the back of her head chimed in at that, she has a crush, maybe with Luz gone she can focus on that. The voice said, Luz trying to shake away those thoughts. She was Amity’s fearless champion, she had said so before Grom, and it was her job to help her get with her crush. 

Then why did thinking about Amity going on a date with someone cause her gut to hurt like she had accidentally drank milk? 

She sighed, getting up from her impromptu seat and continuing on home. It must just be because she wanted Amity to be happy, so whoever was going to date her was going to have to get through her first. Happy with her own explanation she took off in a light jog towards her house, trying unsuccessfully for what felt the hundredth time that day to push thoughts of a teal haired witch out of her head. 

— 

Amity was gently ushered into the house, her eyes still wide from almost being hit by that thing and the subsequent short journey made in the belly of it. Her ears were plastered back against her head and she was shaking slightly. She was lead into a small kitchen that opened up to the rest of the house, carefully being guided to sit down on a chair. 

The girl’s eyes were slightly glazed over and unfocused, Camila noted, quickly running through all of the symptoms in her head, slipping into her work mentality. She quickly got some water and put the glass into the girls hands, seeming to startle her almost. “Here,” she said, “Drink, it will help.” 

The cool water grounded Amity as she mumbled out her thanks. “Do you have a phone?” she said softly, trying to keep her self curled up enough to not call attention to any of her non-human features. “I need to call my friend.”

“Are you sure you are alright?” Camila asked, bustling around the room as she pulled out a first aid kit, “You just walked out in front of the car.” 

Car, that must be the strange metal beast that almost hit her, Amity thought. She needed an excuse fast, trying to think about anything that she could blame that wouldn’t reveal anything when the idea came to her. “Coffee.” She said, trying to nod knowingly, “Too much coffee.” 

She internally cringed, not wanting any adult to think of her as doing anything illegal, but having no other choice, it was either this stranger think she was a delinquent or try to explain how she wasn’t even human and therefore had no idea what a car was.

“Too much coffee?” Camila muttered, somewhat relieved that there was no larger damage to the girl in front of her. “Well, I am sure that you can use my phone, we can get a hold of your friend or your parents.” 

She didn’t miss the cringe that the girl had when she mentioned parents, filing that piece of information away as she pulled out her cell phone. “Before that, what is your name?” 

“Oh…” the girl said, seeming to be lost as Camila worried about the obvious panicked look on her face, “my name…” she trailed off with a distant look on her face. 

Everything seemed to be too much for Amity; in the past 24 hours she had ran away, heard that her parents wanted to lock her in the conformitorium, jumped into a new realm, almost got attacked by a strange creature, and now was sitting here with a nice human asking her name. She almost blurted out the response that her parents had conditioned her to say, the formal words seeming so wrong here in this world. Just imagining the name Blight made her stumble over her words, her traitorous stomach feeling nauseous. 

And didn’t Luz say something about her name meaning something strange in the human world, she had forgotten most of that day, only able to remember how close the two of them had been, sitting together in the secret room of the library talking about what their names meant. She heard her mothers words echoing in her head, seeming to surround her from all directions. ‘A proper Blight.’ The words swirled around her, wanting so badly to reject all of the feelings that she had at the moment. 

Her mothers voice battled against the soft memory of Luz explaining her name and a small bit of her language, both trying to take over her brain. A soft hand on her shoulder caused her to blink, instinctively blurting out the first thing to cross her mind.

“Amity Noceda.” She stumbled over the last name, trying not to think about how many times she had written that name over and over again in her diary, usually accompanied by pictures of her and Luz holding hands. Don’t think about that, she desperately tried to tell herself, it’s just so she doesn’t get suspicious and try to find my parents or something, she thought, clearly lying to herself. 

Camila raised her eyebrow, looking at the obviously stressed girl in front her, a bright blush spreading across her cheeks. So this was the mysterious Amity that she had heard all about from Luz. She smiled as she put out her hand for a gentle handshake, trying not to spook the poor girl any further, “It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said, trying to hold back soft laughter, “I’ve heard so much about you.” 

Unconsciously Amity shook her hand before the comment snapped Amity out of her panicked haze, looking around and noticing her surroundings for the first time. The smells inside of the kitchen were startlingly familiar. There were Azura posters hanging in the main room, along side family pictures that looked just like… 

Her mind flashed back to Camila’s reaction to almost hitting her and the words she was muttering, so similar to what she swore she had heard Luz say before under her breath. The woman in front of her, with the same kind eyes that Luz has, the similarities crashing together to one inevitable conclusion as her face paled even further. 

“My name is Camila Noceda.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was the whole joke that inspired this fic, which has now officially ran away from me with an ever expanding outline. Poor anxious Amity. 
> 
> I figure that witch physiology is probably different enough from human physiology that caffeine would do strange things to them; if it makes our hearts speed up what would it do for a witch? thus the human worlds most popular psycho-active drug becomes a magic stimulant.  
> Plus its always much more interesting when witches are so different from humans. 
> 
> thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.  
> see you all next week


	3. the First Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz comes home and finds an unexpected visitor  
> Amity tries to talk her way out of an awkward situation

Luz checked her phone one last time as she approached her front door; each time she had checked it in the past 10 minutes of walking back home had caused her anxiety to rise a slight bit higher each time she saw that there were no new messages. Everything was fine right? If there was any danger that Amity got caught up in, Willow and Gus could probably handle it, and there was always Eda if things went especially bad, she tried to convince herself. Luz slipped her phone into her pocket with a sigh, unlocking the door and throwing it open. 

“Mama I’m home!” she yelled out, dumping her backpack on the ground as she stretched, relieved to be free of the weight. Even when she went to Hexside as an all track she didn’t have to carry the amount of books that human school needed. “What was that thing you had?” she turned the corner into the kitchen, halting in her tracks at the sight in front of her. 

Her mom was standing in the kitchen, still dressed in her scrubs, and, sitting at the table with a duffel bag by her side, was Amity. She was staring at Luz with an expression of shock, her face flushed and she was unconsciously fiddling with her hands. She had a beanie half-hazardly crammed on her head, the sides pulled down, probably to hide her ears, Luz thought. She looked much more disheveled than Luz had ever seen her, but she was here. 

“Amity!” Luz sprung forward, wrapping her friend up in a hug as she practically pulled her out of her chair, spinning around as Amity tried to follow the excited girls movements. “You’re here!” she dropped Amity back into her seat, grabbing her face with both hands and looking her over before a thought crossed her mind, “Wait you are here, how…” she trailed off in confusion. 

Amity’s face was flush red, the tips of her ears practically vibrating from the hug she had received. An almost white noise descended on her brain, a happy smile crossing her face for the first time in what felt like weeks. 

“Amity?” Luz cocked her head, noticing that the witch had a vacant stare on her face.

“I’m Amity,” the witch murmured, not able to think of anything except Luz’s hands on her face. Luz gave her a pat on the cheek and nodded 

“Yes you are.” Luz let go of her face and raced over to her mom, Amity feeling the haze over her brain disappear with the absence of contact. “Mom!” she ran over, hugging her and pulling on her arm, “This is Amity, from camp, you remember I told you about her, she’s one of my best friends.” 

Camila grinned, giving Luz a side hug, “I remember mija,” she turned to Amity, “Is this the friend that you needed to call?”

A garbled noise came out of Amity’s mouth before she coughed, trying to sit up in the chair and stop her face from betraying her, her hands tapping on the wooden table, “Um yes, I wasn’t sure how to find Luz and I needed her help,” she glanced at her duffel bag with a grimace. 

“What happened to your phone?” Luz pulled over another chair and sat right next to the witch, grabbing one of Amity’s floundering hands. “Is everything okay?” she asked with a small frown on her face, scooting the chair over till she was flush against Amity, the witch grateful for the comfort even though it set her heart racing. 

She glanced up at Camila, who took a seat across from the two girls. She met the older woman’s eyes and quickly looked away, fiddling with the edge of her shirt. 

Something was wrong, Luz thought as she hesitantly put her arm around Amity’s shoulder, pulling her in to lean on her as she whispered to her, “Is it magic stuff? Or something you don’t want my mom to know? Cause I can totally lie, oh or distract, I’m good at distractions Eda taught me how.” 

Amity let out a watery laugh before smiling slightly, all of the emotions from the past day crashing down on her at once as she struggled to maintain composure. “I can tell you,” she mumbled, breathing deep and trying to summon up the courage, grasping at Luz’s hands to try to anchor herself. “I can do this.” She said, Luz wondering if she was saying it to try to convince herself. 

When Amity looked up Camila gave her a encouraging smile, “We need to know what happened Amity,” 

“Okay,” Amity said, looking down at her hands as she closed her eyes, “I ran away from home.” She squeezed her eyes, waiting to hear the reaction. When none came she hesitantly looked up, expecting to see angry glances and only meeting kind eyes.

“Did you leave your phone?” Luz asked, “Is that why you needed to get another one?” 

“No, um I mean kinda, they… they broke it.” She felt Luz’s arm grow tight around her, looking up to see a scowl on her face. “I can get a new one I didn’t mean for them to find it, Eda even gave me some snails and I can pay her back later.” 

The scowl on Luz’s face shattered, morphing into intense concern as she tried to calm down Amity, “No, no, it’s not your fault. I am angry at them, how dare they do that.” 

Camila moved over and knelt at Amity’s other side, “Who is they Amity?” 

“My parents…” Something inside Amity broke, sitting down in between two people who were actually showing her genuine concern for one of the first times that she could remember. “They, they took my phone and my diary, and then they learned about me being friends with Willow and you and how I was spending time at the Owl House, and how I hadn’t been showing up to practice, and the fact that I like…” the words caught in her mouth, almost biting down hard on her tongue to keep herself from spilling everything. 

“They burned my diary and broke my phone.” She continued, her voice wobbling as she tried to hold back tears, “They told me that they were going to make me go back to hanging out with better people, they said that they were going to choose someone proper for me.” She spat out the words, gripping tight to Luz hands. 

“So you ran,” Camila prompted, feeling her feelings melt for the poor girl. She glanced over at Luz, who had an expression of horror mixed with rage on her face, gripping tight to Amity like the teal haired girl would disappear at any moment. 

“Yeah,” Amity let out a breath, unable to stop a few errant tears from sliding down her face. “Eda let me stay with her for the night.” 

“Our camp councilor,” Luz chimed in, trying not to let anger seep through, feeling furious towards the Blight parents. She knew that Amity had issues with her parents, not just from the incident with Willow’s memory, but Amity herself had admitted as much one night at the Owl House, both of them sitting on the couch while Gus and Willow were asleep. Amity told her why she had the secret room in the library, how her parents would sometimes go through her room, how she was expected to it free of distractions. Distractions to Amity’s parents meant everything; Azura, drawing, and especially any friend who hadn’t passed their standards. 

Amity nodded, confused as to what Luz was talking about but trusting her enough to follow along. “Yeah, she was going to offer me a place to stay, but,” she looked at Luz as her expression turned into one of fear. “Emira, my sister,” she added as an afterthought, glancing at Camila, “came this morning. She said, she said my parents were going to find me and then send me to the conformitorium.” 

Luz gasped, clutching even harder onto Amity, before turning to her mom, “They wanted to try to fix her mom,” She spat out, almost growling as Amity fell silent, nodding slightly. 

Camila took in the sight of the two girls, Luz protectively holding onto Amity with an expression on her face that said she would fight off anyone who came close to taking her out of her grip. This Eda lady seemed to think that Amity would be safe here for some reason, and she was obviously scared enough of her parents to run, to lie about who she was. It reminded her of the worst shifts as a nurse, the expression of fear on Amity’s face making the decision obvious.

She let out a sigh, standing up and placing one hand on the back of Amity’s chair, “You can stay.” Luz jumped up at her words, running over and giving her a hug, repeatedly thanking her as Camila wrapped one of her arms around her daughter.

“Thank you Miss Noceda,” Amity said, a small smile appearing on her face, a small bit of tension disappearing from her shoulders. Camila smiled at her, glad to see the girl relax, even slightly. 

“Mija, how about you set up the living room for a sleepover,” Luz grinned and ran up the stairs, yelling in celebration. 

With a fond shake of her head Camila started moving around the kitchen, “So Amity,” the girl jumped at the mention of her name. 

“Y-yes Miss Noceda?” the stutter in her voice shot another lance of sorrow through Camila’s heart, she jumped even from just being mentioned, she thought, her mood towards Amity’s parents souring even more than it had throughout the conversation she just had with the girl. 

“Just Camila,” she shot a grin back at the girl, “Any allergies?” she asked, wanting to slowly ease the tension the girl was feeling, riffling through the pantry as she talked. 

“No Miss, I mean no Camila.” Amity seemed to relax slightly, her hands unfurling slightly as the reality of the situation started to set in. She was safe, she didn’t have to go back, and she was going to stay with Luz. At that thought her face lit up in a blush as she twitched with excitement mixed with anxiousness. 

“Do you want anything to drink?” Camila opened the fridge, deciding to keep dinner simple after the long day that the girls had been through. 

“Um, do you have any apple blood?” Amity asked, hoping that it existed in the human realm and that she didn’t just embarrass herself in front of Luz’s mom again.

“I knew there was a reason why my daughter liked you,” Camila said with a laugh, pulling out some apple juice, “You two have the same sense of humor. She would pretend to be a vampire while she drank juice, plastic fangs and everything.” She chuckled fondly and looked back at Amity’s face, which had gone beet red when she had heard that Luz liked her, trying to keep her mind from drifting off topic. 

“You know I have to ask,” Camila set the cup down in front of Amity, her hands immediately grabbing it, wanting to have something to occupy her hands, relaxing a bit at the cold sensation. “Noceda huh?” 

All sense of calm immediately vanished from Amity’s mind. Oh titan, oh this is bad, she thought to herself. Quick how do I get out of this, she scrambled for an excuse, sputtering a bit before replying, “I-I didn’t know if you would try to find my parents, and I didn’t want to risk that, and I was trying to find Luz so, yeah, just first thing I thought of.” she managed to get out, uncharacteristically falling off at the end of the sentence, only managing telling a half truth. Okay that should be good enough, she thought.

Luz appeared at the bottom of the stairs, her arms pilled high with blankets and pillows as she dumped them on the floor of the living room, running over to Amity. “Oh Amity, did you bring pajamas?” she leaned against the chair, her hand resting on Amity’s shoulder as she continued without waiting for an answer, “because I have some really cute Azura pjs and we can even match,” she said with a huge grin, her eyes seeming to sparkle. 

The thoughts that were racing around Amity’s head cleared instantly, left with only the image of her and Luz, curled up together wearing matching cloths, Luz holding her as they read Azura. “Matching. Yes.” She said, her mouth suddenly dry as Luz leapt in joy, running back up the stairs. 

“Yes! Best sleepover ever!” the human girl took the steps two at a time as Amity felt her body freeze, the ever present flush that had been on her face since she saw Luz creeping up to her ears as she frantically told herself to breath. 

“Almost fainted there,” she muttered to herself, looking up to see Camila, a knowing smirk on her face. Amity sputtered, trying to come up with something to say as her brain was stuck in an endless loop of panic. 

“Solo una buena amiga mama, ella dice.” Camila said while laughing, turning around and starting to prepare food. “Doors stay open in the house okay?” She smiled to herself as she heard Amity choke, sputtering as her face turned bright red as she let out a squeak. 

She let the room fade into a comfortable silence, fixing some light food for the girls as Amity tentatively sipped her drink, pleasantly surprised by the sweet taste. 

Amity’s ears perked up as she heard Luz hurrying down the stairs, appearing in the kitchen holding two bundles of cloths. “I’m going to get the sleepover set up,” she pushed one of the bundles into Amtiy’s arms, “You can go change.” She said, running off to living room, already tearing into the pile of blankets. Camila rolled her eyes, pointing over towards a slightly open door as Amity gave her a small smile, slipping inside and leaning against the door behind her. 

Oh titan that was a disaster, Amity thought, her hands curling into the soft material she was holding, at least you can stay, she thought. Forcing herself to move as she changed into the cloths that Luz provided. She smiled in the mirror as she say the shirt that Luz had picked out, a picture of Azura on the front of the shirt and the plaid pants extremely comfortable. She growled as she fiddled with her hair tie, getting it to roughly her normal style as she stepped out of the bathroom. 

In the living room was a giant pile of blankets and pillows, all structured together to form a large nest that Luz was currently stacking pillows inside of. Amity smiled at the sight, walking over and leaning against one of the chairs, “Really Luz, a nest?” Luz jumped slightly before turning around, the words in her throat dying as she looked at Amity. “You have spent too much time with the Owl Lady,” Amity said, a soft laugh in her voice, Luz unable to stop from joining in. 

“The Owl Lady?” Camila asked, putting a plate of food on the table as she sat down, Luz bolting over remembering that she had not eaten since she came home from school. 

“She was our councilor, Eda. She really liked owls, even had a pet owl.” Luz said, sliding into her seat, Amity cautiously sitting down next to her. “She named him Owlbert.” 

“She sounds very creative,” Camila raised her eyebrow, the sarcasm leaking through her voice, Luz chuckling as Amity was unable to pick up on it. 

“She is,” Amity replied, “She always has some sort of solution to whenever we, I mean, I get in trouble.” 

Camila laughed, “If she can get Luz out of trouble then she must be something,” she said, fondly rustling Luz hair, all of them falling into a comfortable silence as they ate. Camila stretching as she finished, “Okay I am going to go to bed, big day tomorrow.” She said, walking over to give Luz a kiss on the forehead, “Amity tomorrow we can set up the extra room for you and you can come with me while I run errands okay?” she smiled gently, Amity nodding. Camila paused on the stairs, “Mija, tomorrow is still a school day and you need to go you have that English quiz.” Luz groaned but gave a thumbs up as her mother walked up stairs. 

She bolted up, her mind jogged by the mention of school, “I have to call Willow,” she said, running towards her bag and pulling out her phone, going back to beside Amity. Seeing the confused look on Amity’s face Luz explained, still unlocking her phone, “I called Willow today because I was worried about you and she said she was going to try to figure out what was going on so I have to let her know you are okay.” 

“She was worried?” Amity asked in confusion, not thinking that Willow would really notice she was gone in only a day.

“Well yeah,” Luz blinked at her, “I mean I was more worried but Willow is your friend of course she cares.” Luz pulled up the plant track students number, pressing the call button as she whispered, “She is going to be so surprised.” 

“What is going to surprise me Luz,” Willow’s voice came from the phone out of the speaker, “Or are you calling me because you miss your late night calls with Amity already.” Amity flushed at that, Willow’s voice much too sly for her taste. 

“No but it’s about Amity,” Luz smiled as Willow’s voice cut in. 

“Did Eda call you? Because I tried to ask Edric and he knew nothing.” There was a note of panic in Willow’s voice, stunning Amity. She knew Willow and her were friends, she had been working to mend their friendship ever since the day that she and Luz had repaired her memories, but always felt so guilty around her old friend. 

“No but guess who is here,” Luz yelled, a sigh coming from the phone before Amity jumped in. 

“Hey Willow,” there was a pause from the phone as Amity shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. 

“Hey Ami,” Willow said, a relieved sigh coming from the phone, “I’m glad you are okay. How did you get to the human realm?” 

Luz looked at Amity, placing her hand on Amity’s shoulder, “Are you okay to talk about it again,” she whispered. Amity nodding as she launched into her explanation, Willow holding silent until the end. A tense silence followed Amity’s story, she felt better that time, it didn’t hurt as much as before. “Okay,” Willow said, her voice clipped, “Tomorrow I am going to have to take it out on some poor trees or I am going to march up to your house and give your parents a piece of my mind, but for now, I am just glad you are okay.” 

“And we are still going to hang out in a week or so right?” Luz said, “Eda said she can open the portal for a bit for everyone to come through.” 

“Gus is looking forward to that,” Willow laughed, “He hasn’t stopped talking about it since you brought it up. But you know Luz,” Luz made an inquisitive noise, Willow’s voice teasing over the phone, “Now you won’t have to miss any more of your good night calls with Amity, because you will be sleeping in the same house.” Amity flushed bright red, cursing Willow and the knowledge of her crush. 

“That’s right!” Luz said, pulling Amity into a side hug, “We are going to have a super Azura book club!” she said, smiling brightly. 

“Ye.. Yeah” Amity stammered out, Willow’s laughter mocking her from the phone. 

“Okay, I still have Hexside tomorrow, I’ll try to get someone to get some extra abomination homework for you Amity.” The witch smiling at that as she softly thanked her. “It’s fine, and Amity,” she paused for a moment, “I didn’t want it to happen like this, but I am happy you are out of there.” 

“Me too,” Amity whispered, suddenly overcome with guilt as she looked down at her hands, letting Willow and Luz say their goodbyes before Luz walked away, saying something that didn’t reach the witch, caught in her feelings. Soft hands grabbed hers, looking up to see Luz, smiling gently down at her. 

“Do you want to talk about it? Or just read Azura together?” she asked, Amity taking in the fact that she had changed into the matching set of pajamas. 

“Azura,” Amity mumbled out, Luz leading her over to the huge nest of blankets, both of them settling in as they started to read, both of them escaping into the story, loosing the worries of the day to the grand adventures of Azura, Luz pausing every so often to act out a certain scene or excitedly talk about the characters, Amity slowly opening up as Luz eventually laid back, going through her phone as Amity read.

Luz yawned, feeling tiredness creeping into her mind as she looked over, the sight she saw causing her heart to stutter. Amity was buried under a pile of blankets, the tips of her ears twitching as she read, her hair had escaped her hair-tie and was loose and ruffled from the blankets, spilling messily around her neck. Wow, Luz thought, that’s cute. The words moved from her brain and to her mouth as whispered, “linda.” 

Amity’s ear twitched as she turned towards Luz, blushing as she realized that her crush was staring at her. Luz grinned leaned over Amity’s shoulder, “What part are you at?” she said, reaching out to take her arm and lean on her.

A hiss of pain escaped Amity’s lips as Luz took hold of her arm, the human girl immediately letting go, “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t know…” Amity looked at her forearm, turning it over and noticing a bright red patch of skin on the underside of her arm. “Huh,” she tilted her arm to show Luz, “I don’t know how that got there.” She thought for a moment, remembering the sharp pain in her arm when she stepped through the portal, “Wait, I felt something when I went through the portal but I wasn’t paying attention.”

Luz gently reached out and took her arm, peering at an angry red burn mark that was on the inside of Amity’s arm, grimacing she looked back up, “Something burned you there, hold on let me go get some burn cream.” She jumped up running over to the kitchen, pulling a first aid kit out of a drawer. “We always have burn cream since the Azura flamethrower incident.” 

“The what,” Amity blinked in confusion, Luz coming back over and sitting down next to her, gently retaking her arm. “You remember how in book 2 Azura used that awesome fire spell to gain the upper hand in the final battle?” Amity silently nodded, “Well I wanted to recreate that scene for a project so I tried to make a way to cast a fire spell without magic, and well… it didn’t go as planned.” 

“Did you almost burn down your house trying to cast a fire spell?” Amity asked incredulously, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile. 

“Oh no,” Luz said, waving her hands in front of her, “That was just the backyard, the volcano incident is when I almost burned down the house.” She moved to unscrew the ointment cap and looked up at Amity, who had her brow scrunched in confusion, “You know what that one is a bit complicated and embarrassing,” Luz scratched the back of her neck, giving the witch a quick smile. 

“Alright dork,” Amity said, giving a return smile before looking away. Luz smiled gratefully and hovered her hands above the burn, silently asking for permission, Amity nodded, Luz reaching down and gently touching it, causing Amity to flinch slightly. 

“I just have to check,” Luz said apologetically, “My mom taught me how to take care of wounds, she does it for a living, that's what a nurse is.” Luz explained, Amity nodding along.

“Huh” Luz said, peering closely at the wound, her eyebrows scrunching together in concentration. There was something off about the burn, an almost raised section to it, almost like… 

“What is it,” Amity asked, a note of panic entering her voice. 

“There is something here, hold on let me just,” Luz took her fingers and gently ran them over the wound, feeling something peel under them as she pulled off a sticker like object, the underside scored slightly in a strange pattern, the skin below it an uglier red than the surrounding area. The two girls stared at the strange object. 

“That was on my skin,” Amity said softly, Luz nodding before going back over the wound. “Oh Titan why was that was on my skin.”

“I don’t know,” Luz said, squinting at the object, “we should ask Eda, maybe she will know.” Getting a nod of agreement from the other girl Luz slipped it into a zip lock bag, finally getting around to putting the burn ointment on, Amity relaxing as the cool cream soaked in, but also taking in the closeness of Luz and the caring way that she was looking at her. 

“Did Eda tell you when she would try to see you?” Luz asked, wrapping a light gauze around Amity’s burn. 

“She said to go back to the place that she dropped me off in a week,” Amity said, her eyes staring off to the side, “But I want to try to go sooner, I don’t like it that there was something on me.” She shivered, a crawling sensation over taking her for a moment as she tried to focus on Luz in front of her. “Plus she would want to see you.” Luz smiled for a moment until her face fell, leaning against Amity. 

Leaning against each others shoulders the two sat in silence, Amity tracing circles on the ground idly. Luz broke the silence, “You know I haven’t tried to do magic since I came back to the human world.” She said, her voice low and hesitant, as if speaking too loudly would shatter something that couldn’t be pieced together. 

“But,” Amity was stunned, this was Luz, her passion for magic was part of who she was, “why?” she asked, “You love magic. You’re Luzura.” 

The comment drew a small giggle out of Luz, resting her head in the crook of Amity’s shoulder, “I’m scared to be honest.” Luz breathed deep and pulled out a small notebook, an almost complete light glyph drawn on it, “Spending time in Hexside was the first time that I felt like I was accepted, and magic was something out of a dream that I had since I was a kid.” Luz looked back at the glyph, tracing the symbol with her finger, “I don’t want to loose that.” 

Unable to help herself Amity threw her arms around Luz, the human girl responding immediately as they clutched onto each other. Luz’s smell was overwhelming to Amity as she buried her face in the girls neck, holding on tightly. 

“We should text Eda,” Amity said softly, one hand ruffling Luz’s hair as she melted into the other girl. Luz gave an affirming noise against Amity’s shoulder. “We can go over and do magic, and we can keep doing it until you are ready to try it here.” Luz pulled away and smiled at Amity, making her face flush as she was met with a warm smile and kind eyes. Tearing away from the glance she stuttered, “Plus I want to know what that thing is.” 

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Luz rolled over, grabbing her phone as she blinked in the light of the screen, shooting Eda a quick text telling her that Amity made it, and that they needed to see her as soon as possible. Tossing the phone out of the nest of blankets she yawned again, sinking into the comfortable pile as she closed half the distance to Amity’s hand with hers, a silent invitation to the shy girl in front of her. Amity gulped and reached out, Luz gently holding onto her hand as she mumbled words in between yawns. “It was a lot today,” she said, her eyes blinking from the effort of staying awake, Amity slowly nodding. “I’m glad you are here,” Luz smiled, Amity feeling her heart melt. 

“So am I,” she breathed out, feeling herself smile as she sank down into the nest of pillows and blankets. Luz’s breathing was deep, a small smile on her face in sleep as Amity felt tiredness overtake her, some of the weight she had been carrying on her shoulders melting away as she followed Luz to sleep, a small smile on her face and the feeling of Luz’s hand holding hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading, and thanks to the Owl House discord I am in for helping me with my theories on magic.  
> There will be Eda/Camilia because I have been loving that.  
> Also I haven't take spanish for years so excuse the roughness - translation being "Only a good friend mom, she says"
> 
> What was the mysterious object on Amity's arm? Find out next week lol  
> have a good week all.


	4. The Owl Lady's Explanation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity and Luz get some answers from Eda, and things start to become clearer for Amity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, first thank you all for over 300 kudos wow I never thought that we would get this far.   
> And there is plenty left to go too. 
> 
> This chapter contains a depiction of a panic attack, but is labelled, and Ill put an explanation at the end.   
> Some of you guessed correctly last chapter and that makes me happy, I do love some good foreshadowing.   
> Enjoy

Loud pop music snapped Luz out of her sleep, blindly groping for her phone as she turned off the alarm. She stretched, feeling soreness in her back that she hadn’t felt since spending the summer sleeping in her sleeping bag on the floor. She slowly sat up, trying to blink away the tiredness behind her eyes. She looked over at Amity, still deep asleep ass she smiled, before remembering the events of the night before. 

Amity was here! Her brain shouted, she was here! Luz smiled, shaking out her arms to release her excitement. Not being able to go back to Hexside when school started had been hard on her, magic had been everything she had wanted and she found herself missing the screaming bell and the chaos of Hexside; sometimes waiting for an explosion to go off in the middle of class and disappointed when nothing happened. 

She walked into the kitchen, rummaging around in the pantry for food as she checked her phone. She gout out a couple bowls for her and Amity as she swiped through her phone, checking her messages to see that Eda had texted her, telling her to bring Amity to the Owl House later on that day. 

Luz pumped her fist, excited to be able to go back to the Owl House, as Amity walked into the kitchen grumbling. Her hair was down and messy, eyes half closed as Luz passed her a glass of water. Amity muttered out a thank you before downing the water, starting to wake up. 

The sound of footsteps came down the stairs, both girls still half awake until Luz looked at Amity and noticed that her ears were drooping in tiredness. Her ears looked cute like that with her hair down, she thought before her mind caught up with her, her eyes darting to the stair way as she darted to the living room, grabbing Amity’s beanie and throwing it towards her, “Amity your ears,” she whispered trying to warn her. 

Amity made an undignified noise as the beanie hit her face, hurriedly pulling it over her head as Camila walked into the room. Staring at Luz posed with her hand outstretched and Amity with her beanie pulled all the way down, clutching the sides to her face. She raised her eyebrow as she looked around, “Good morning girls.”

Nervous laughter and answering greetings came from the girls as Camila walked into the kitchen, staring up at the clock as she made herself breakfast. She rolled her eyes fondly before turning to Luz, “Mija,” she said, leaning against the counter, “It’s almost 7:30” 

“Wow I slept in a bit,” Luz said before gasping, “I slept in!” she yelled, taking off up the stairs. Amity stared in confusion as she heard frantic noises from the second floor. A couple minutes later Luz came tearing back down the stairs, fully dressed as she ran down the stairs, giving Amity a quick hug.

“I’m gonna miss the bus, but I will see you after school, Eda texted and can help out later, good luck with mom you’ll be fine.” she whispered, running over and giving her mom a hug, grabbing the lunch that she was holding out for her and running towards the door, scooping up her bag on the way.

The door slammed closed as Luz ran out the door, Amity smiling fondly at her charming antics before she turned back to the table, tapping her fingers on the wood and trying to find something to say. 

Camila pushed some toast over to Amity, the girl nibbling on the food as Camila sat across from her. “Outside of a new phone is there anything else you need?” 

Amity stopped eating, clearing her throat before speaking softly, “No, I uh, I have enough cloths, and Mrs Eda gave me enough to get anything, or well I think its enough?” she questioned. “I can get a new phone it’s fine, I don’t want you to have to spend anything on me.” 

“I insist,” Camila said, “I have to go out to get some new things anyway, you can come with me and we can get you a new phone, get you added to our plan.” 

“Oh, okay,” Amity fidgeted slightly, “I could pay you back for it, she pulled her duffel bag over, opening it to pull out the human snails that Eda have given her. “I’m really grateful that you are letting me stay, I don’t want you to have to pay extra because of me on top of that.” She said with a sad smile, holding the snails towards Camila.

“I can’t take your money Amity,” Camila said, pushing it back, taking a glance at the bundle as she almost choked on her drink, noticing that the badly tied bundle was mostly large bills, the young girl in front of her having just casually pulled out a large sum of money.

She filed that away under questions to ask the mysterious Eda, as she stood up, putting the dishes away as she continued to talk, “And we have to think about you getting back to school; I don’t want you to miss any schooling while you are with us.” 

Amity frowned, not able to help thinking about how she would usually be walking to her first Abominations class at this time, her heart falling as she wondered if she was ever going to be able to go back to learning magic. Maybe she could have Willow smuggle notes to Eda, that way she could at least try to keep up. 

“That would be nice,” she said, hoping to keep up some semblance of being a normal human in front of Camila. How would she even fit in at a human school. 

“Luz told me that you were an honors student, that is really impressive.” Amity flushed at the praise, a smile appearing on her face. 

“I was the top of my track,” Amity shyly said, a little bit of her confidence back with the mention of school. She knew this, school was one of her passions. 

“You must work really hard,” Camila sat back down with a cup of tea, “We should think about getting you signed up for Luz’s school. Though we will have to do something about getting your paperwork. I don’t know if you managed to get anything from your house before you left.” Amity nodded, inwardly wondering what she meant by paperwork, well, she thought, one more thing that she would have to ask Luz about later on, she concluded, turning back to her plate and finishing up the last of the food on it. 

“I have it,” She said, mentally putting another thing on the list to ask from Eda. 

“Good,” Camila said with a smile, “That makes things easier.” She stood up and stretched, taking the empty plate from Amity and putting it in the sink, “You ready to head out and get you set up?” 

Amity nodded, standing up and making sure her chair was properly pushed in before waiting for Camila, following her out of the house. She stared at the metal beast from the day before, still wary of it as Camila climbed in, looking back to see Amity still standing on the porch. 

“Will you be alright with the car?” she leaned out the window, “We can always take the bus if you aren’t ready after yesterday.” 

The words jolted Amity into action, moving over to the car and pulling on one of the handles, sliding in as she looked around curiously, Camila smiling encouragingly as Amity copied her movements, pulling a strange strap over her shoulder. Well, Amity thought, this should be an informative outing. 

— 

Luz walked home with a skip in her step, she was finally going to go back to the Boiling Isles, even if it was for only a moment, and mostly to help Amity, but she couldn’t help feeling excitement well up from her stomach, the thought of not being able to do magic had been haunting her for the past month, every time she touched her notebook of glyphs she felt a pull in her gut, making her pull away from trying to cast anything; the thought of having to go back to a time before magic stopping her. 

As much as she felt terrible, she was secretly happy that Amity had come, even though she hated how it happened. Having one of her best friends from the Isles with her in the human realm made her remember   
She felt herself unconsciously slow down in her walk home, looking up to see Amity shyly standing in front of the front door holding a small bag, giving her a tiny wave. Luz waved back, calling out to Amity as she picked back up the pace, pushing her feelings down. 

“Hey Amity!” she ran over, giving her a hug, feeling the last bit of her anxious thoughts melt away, “How was your day?” She kept a hold of Amity’s arm, already starting to walk towards the house where the portal would appear. 

“It was good,” Amity blushed, the feeling of Luz holding onto her arm spreading warmth through her, “Your mom got me a new phone,” she pulled a simple smart-phone from her pocket, waving it around. 

“Yeah mom’s great,” Luz laughed before leaning in closer to Amity, whispering near her ear, “Did everything go alright, with well, ya know,” she let go of Amity’s arm, putting her fingers next to her own ears and wiggling them. 

Amity couldn’t stop a small snort of laughter from escaping her lips as she shook her head, “No, I don’t think she noticed anything different, yet.” Her face fell slightly, “Do you think we should tell her, I mean I don’t want to force you, or put you in a bad spot, but can we really keep this a secret for long?” 

The smile on Luz’s face faltered slightly, as she thought for a moment, the two of them walking slowly in silence, “I don’t know,” she shrugged, “I mean we probably will eventually have to, if I want to keep going to see Eda.” Her face lit up at that, “What if we got Eda’s help? That way she will definitely believe us.” 

“It’s not the worst of ideas,” Amity considered, before a teasing smile crossed her face, “at least not that you have come up with.” 

“Excuse me I come up with excellent ideas,” Luz said, pressing a hand to her chest as she waved her other hand In the air dramatically, “and they almost always work, I’ll have you know.” 

The two girls laughed, falling into light conversation as they went off of the sidewalk and into the woods, Luz leading the way through towards the old abandoned house where the portal was, Luz picking up the pace as she saw the house, with the ornate portal door set into the entrance. 

The moment she saw the portal, Luz was bolting towards the door and throwing it open, letting out a sigh of relief as she entered into the Owl House. She spun around, taking in the familiar sight as she felt the worries of the past month start to melt away. Hurriedly taking out a light glyph from her pocket and tapping it, almost jumping from excitement as the glyph crumbled and turned into a floating ball of light

“Hey kiddo,” Luz spun around and leapt forward, crashing into Eda as she threw her arms around the older witch, Eda smiling fondly as she wrapped one arm loosely around Luz. “I missed you too,” she looked up, seeing Amity shifting from foot to foot in the hallway. She gave the girl a small nod, Amity giving a small wave back, a bag hanging from her arm. 

“Alright,” She took Luz by the shoulders and gently pushed her away, “Thats enough affection for the rest the month,” Luz laughed, Eda noticing that she wiped the corner of her eye as she felt the corner of up her lips curl up. 

“Now,” she clapped, the lights flaring up through the house, “You kids bring me anything?” Amity and Luz gasped when the light revealed the rest of the house, showing what looked like burn marks on some of the walls. Eda looked around and scoffed, “Oh that, that was nothing just some the usual attack from the coven, couple of the sneaky bastards got passed Hooty but couldn’t get through me,” She laughed, radiating confidence as Luz relaxed. 

“Who dares interrupt the king of demons nap!” King’s voice echoed down the hallway as Luz gasped and took off, the excited noises her aggressively cuddling King making both Eda and Amity smile. 

“You settled in over there kid?” Amity nodded, following Eda into the main room where Luz was holding King, the small demon half heartedly trying to escape but clearly not putting any effort into it at all. 

Eda flopped down on the chair as Amity and Luz took seats on the couch, “So what brings you kids back so soon, you just miss me or what.” 

Luz and Amity exchanged worried glances, Eda arching an eyebrow as she saw a nervous look on their faces. “Well,” Luz started, taking the small bag from Amity, pulling out the small zip lock bag that contained the mysterious patch. “This was on Amity’s arm,” she said as Amity twisted her arm to show Eda the burn mark on it, Eda sitting up and holding out her hand. 

The moment that the bag was passed to her she opened it, pulling out the patch and squinting her eyes. She drew a spell circle in the air, a few small vials of potions floating near her as she muttered to herself. She pulled the cap off of one vial, letting a drop of the liquid hit the patch, a white flash of light coming off from it as Eda hummed. 

“Now this kids,” she said, flexing her fingers as the vials floated back into place, “Is why you don’t join covens.” The two girls looked at her with a confused expression before she rolled her eyes and continued. 

“You know, swear your life to a coven, never do any other magic again, all of that Belos nonsense.” 

“But, I haven’t joined a coven yet, I can do other types of magic.” Amity said, a disbelieving tone to her voice, “Why would that be on me?” 

Eda grimaced, standing up and moving next to the girls on the couch, “Well, thats true kid, but the coven glyphs do something else too. Well, at least now I know they do.” She stood up and paced in front of the girls, starting to reason it out aloud. 

“Belos wants us to only do the one type of magic, and so the only people without those patches are the Emperor’s Coven, but that made me think, why would Belos let people run around with no way to control them. At the same time it has always been so easy for the covens to find any wild witches. So I figured that there was something else to the glyphs outside of a simple locking away of magic.” 

She stopped, holding up the patch, “This little thing,” she said waving the patch in the air, “just proves my point, right after Amity left the Emperors Coven attacked, and they were looking for you kid.” She looked at Amity, the young witch starting to breath faster as panic flooded her mind. 

“They knew you were here, I figured that they made a good guess, but now we know; they were tracking you kid.” 

\-- (Depiction of a panic attack starts here)--

Eda’s words came crashing down onto Amity’s mind, her body forgetting how to breath as she took gulping breaths, her whole upper body moving with the motion. Luz tried to put her hand on Amity’s shoulder, the feeling of contact making Amity shrink further into herself, blinking as the world seemed to get fuzzy. 

“Space kiddo, give her space,” Eda knelt down next to Amity, keeping a little bit away as Luz jumped backwards, a worried expression on her face as she clutched King. “Amity, Amity breath. Focus on my voice alright.” Amity blankly nodded, her eyes glassed over and barely responsive. “Tell me something you can smell Amity.” 

Amity took a deep breath, inhaling though her nose automatically, “Brimstone,” she muttered, the smell cutting through her erratic thoughts as she blinked, still paralyzed by the fear racing through her. They could catch her, they could take her back and she would never be able to see Luz again, or Willow, or Eda. They could send her somewhere and she would be what her mother had pushed her to be her entire life. 

“Good, what’s something else.” Eda slowly moved closer, Luz noting that her voice was softer than usual. 

“Lemons,” the smell instinctively making her relax, mellowing out her thoughts as she started to breath slower. Eda waved Luz over as they both sat flanking the teal haired witch, Amity blinking at them in confusion. 

“One more,” Eda and Luz hovered next to the girl, Amity taking one more deep breath, the world still hazy as she tried to focus through it. 

Her nose scrunched up, “Yarrow?” Her eyes blinked open slightly, her head tilting in confusion. 

“Yeah I was working on something before you two came.” Eda chuckled and hovered a hand over the young witch’s back, “You okay with a hug kid?” 

\-- (depiction of panic attack over) --

Amity nodded, Luz immediately wrapping her arms around her as Eda put one arm around her shoulder. Amity smiled slightly, still taking shaky breaths as King scrambled up and sat oh her lap. She felt tension stat to ease out of her as she looked up at Eda with a half smile. “Thanks,” she said gratefully. 

“No problem, you know,” she jostled Amity teasingly, “Lily used to get those panic attacks the day before a big test, that trick always work to calm her down.” 

“Can they still find me?” Luz clutched harder onto Amity, both looking at Eda with hopeful eyes. 

“Nah you’re safe,” Eda flipped the patch over, showing a black scar mark, “What ever you did severed the magic that was fueling it and fried it good.” She laughed, patting Amity on the back, “How’d you do it kid? I know plenty of people who would pay good snails for that information.” 

A giggle burst from Amity’s mouth, Luz joining in as she spoke through laughter, both of them caught up in the absurdity of the situation “We don’t know, just that after she came through the portal it burned her.” 

“Alright kids, keep your secrets,” Eda laughed, “ Oh, I did find something that the coven goons dropped,” Eda stood up and pointed behind the couch. Amity and Luz turned around, the human bursting into laughter as the young witch’s face paled. Eda threw an arm around either girl affectionately with a laugh. “Really completes the look doesn’t it.”

There on the wall hung the large wanted poster of Eda and King, framed and in a place of honor. In one corner Luz’s banned poster from Hexside, and in the other corner, just as proudly displayed, was a freshly printed missing poster; complete with a reward and Amity’s latest school portrait. 

Luz turned to Amity, still giggling, “Did she do the whole welcome to the bad girl coven thing?” Amity nodded as Luz laughed harder, Ed giving a soft chuckle. 

“Alright kids, you two need anything else before I kick you out?” Eda clapped both of them on the shoulder, “I’m a busy owl, got lots of potions to brew up, crimes to plan.”

“Well,” Amity said softly, “Camila mentioned that she wanted me to start school sometime, and that I needed paperwork for it, and well,” Amity fiddled with her fingers before shrugging with an apologetic look, “I kind of maybe told her that I had the paperwork even though I have no idea what she is talking about?” 

“Human paperwork stuff,” Eda tapped her chin as she thought, “Yeah I think I have some of that in one of my boxes, I saw that it was guarded and thought it was probably valuable, just been sitting up there ever since.” She laughed as she slapped her knee, “The humans don’t even hex proof their stuff that should be easy to forge something for you kid.” 

Amity smiled gratefully at Eda, thanking her as Luz and her walked towards the portal door, Eda waving it off gently, “Don’t worry about it kid, just come back in a few days, and bring me some human stuff I still have a business to run.” 

She pushed them gently towards the door as Luz scooped up King, giving him a hug and kisses on his head before turning to Eda and wrapping her up in another kid, Eda rolling her eyes and patting her on the back fondly. 

“Bye Eda! We’ll be back soon!” Luz walked backwards through the portal still waving, as Amity followed, stopping briefly to whisper a thank you before darting after the human. 

—

Later that night light from the television played across the sheets that Luz had set up in the living room of her house. Amity and Luz were huddling inside of a blanket fort, Amity’s eyes wide and ears perked forward as she focused intently on the Good Witch Azura movie that was playing on the TV. 

On the walk home Luz had tried to come up with topics to shake Amity out of the mood that the visit to the Isles had put her in, eventually mentioning that there were movie adaptations of the Good Witch Azura books, causing Amity’s ears had perked up and Luz knew that she had found the perfect thing to do for the evening.

The moment that the two young girls got home Luz had immediately rearranged the nest of blankets in the living room, getting Amity’s help to move chairs into place before draping the sheets over them, filling the entire space with pillows and cushions stolen from the couch before jumping in, holding out a hand for Amity to join her. 

They had been watching the first Azura movie, one that Luz had seen a dozen times before, and maybe it was because of that, it had to be that right, she was having a hard time watching the movie. 

The final confrontation between Azura and Hecate played across the screen, one of her and Amity’s favorite moments of the entire series, and she had no idea what was going on. Instead, she was staring at Amity’s face, watching as the witch mouthed the lines from the book along with the actors, barely even blinking as she tried to soak in every moment. 

Luz basked in the sight, finding herself staring at Amity’s lips, knowing exactly what lines she was saying by heart, and hearing Amity’s voice in her head instead of the actors, as she found herself wondering when Amity’s lips got so… entrancing. 

Hecate knocked Azura down on the TV, Amity drawing in a breath, Luz noticing that she bit her lip slightly in anticipation, wrapped up in the scene, one small fang highlighted against her lips. Luz flushed deeply, spinning around to stare at the movie as she screamed inside of her mind.

What was that! She thought, her heat pounding in her chest. That… she blinked, shaking her head to purge the thoughts from her mind. That was something she could think about later, without Amity and her pretty eyes sitting right next to her. 

The last minutes of the movie played out on the screen with Luz only paying half attention as the credits started to roll, Amity letting out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding in as she turned to Luz. 

“Did they do that for the other books?” she asked, her eyes seeming to glow in the now darkened room, the look of joy on her face filling Luz with matching excitement. 

“Yeah!” she waved her hands as she launched into an explanation of all of the different media created around the Azura series, her mother walking in during the middle of a complicated explanation of the Azura animated series. Camila smiling as she saw Amity watching Luz’s excitable ranting. 

“Alright girls,” she said, both of them looking up at her, “I know you are excited to have a friend sleeping over Mija, but you need sleep and not camping out on the floor again.”

“Buut moom,” Luz whined, her pouting causing Amity to giggle, “I slept on the floor for most of camp,” she said, Camila raising an eyebrow. 

“Yes but in camp you didn’t need to go to school the next day, and Amity has to get settled in her new room.” 

“My what?” Amity asked stunned, Luz smiling at her softly, “You didn’t have to, I mean, I could have slept down here.” Amity sputtered, a warm feeling filling her with the kindness that she was being shown. 

“Nonsense,” Camila said, walking over and turning off the TV, “We have a guest room for a reason.” She smiled, Luz popping up from the floor and helping Amity up. 

“Let’s go see,” Luz pulled Amity up, an excited grin on her face, almost pulling the witch along. They made their way up up the stairs, Amity noticing that one of the doors had a picture of Azura taped to it, Camila opening the door right across from it. 

Amity hesitantly stepped in, taking in the room. It was cozy, fresh sheets set up on a small bed and a folding table set up in one corner. There was a small bookshelf against one wall, along with a recessed closet. She turned to Camilia with a small smile, “Thank you,” she said, walking over and looking around, noticing her duffel bag sitting next to the bed. 

Her breath caught in her throat, remembering that she had left it downstairs before she and Luz headed off to see Eda, her eyes darting around the room, looking for any signs of her books or cloths. If Camila had found any of her magic items then what would happen to her and Luz, would she get kicked out again?

A confused expression crossed her face when she realized that there was nothing set out from it, none of her books, not her cloths, or any of the other items that she brought. 

“What’s wrong,” Luz stepped up next to her, taking in the look on Amity’s face, panic crossed with confusion, “I know its probably not what you are used to.” 

“No, no.” Amity cut her off, not wanting them to think that she was ungrateful, “I just, my stuff is still in my bag.” She muttered almost unconsciously. 

“Why wouldn’t it be,” Amity blinked in confusion, Camila’s answer confusing her even more, the older woman remembering Luz’s explanation of how Amity had to have her own hiding place, away from the eyes of her parents. “You have an expectation of privacy, I’m not going to go through your things Amity.” Camila watched as Amity stood there stunned, a small smile appearing on the girls face as Luz offered to help her unpack, the two girls excitedly talking as Camila silently slipped out of the room. 

She leaned on the wall outside, letting out a deep breath. Every fact that she learned about Amity made her more convinced that something was going on with her. Her hesitance and wary expressions made her heart drop, and she was once again glad that Luz, her kind to a fault daughter, had decided to befriend the other girl. 

Laughter came from within the room, making her smile at the two kids antics. There was one thing for certain, Camila decided, if she ever got the opportunity to meet Amity’s parents she was going to have words with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> foreshadowing huh? gotta love foreshadowing. 
> 
> For those of you who skipped the panic attack, Amity got freaked out by the tracking glyph, and Eda calmed her down, relying on the fact that witches (imo) have a strong sense of smell, and doing a variation of the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, what I use myself. 
> 
> Those glyphs huh? I am sure that there is more to them than just the sealing away magic, but at the same time even if not the Blights are powerful and I wouldn't put it past them to invade their kids privacy like that. 
> 
> Also edited all the chapters to reflect the spelling of Camila's name as intended.   
> Thank you all for reading! I will see you all next week.


	5. Secrets and Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz and Amity make their preparations for Amity to eventually brave human school as elsewhere others make preparations and plans of their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone,   
> Welcome to the next chapter, where things start to ramp up plot wise, and characters come even closer to meeting each other, and the web of secrets becomes harder to keep together.

“There are so many people here,” Amity pulled her beanie further down around her ears, staying close to Luz as she looked around the large building that Luz had called a mall; it reminded her of the market in Bonesborough, only enclosed and with many more people around. Luz seemed impervious to the crowds, pointing out different shops that she thought Amity would like, all while making plans for the rest of their shopping. 

Luz had woken Amity up early in the morning, telling her to get ready to go to shopping for extra supplies and cloths. Camila had been nice enough to give them a ride on the way to her job, pressing bus fare into their hands for the return trip before leaving the two girls to their shopping. 

“And we can go over there, I got a lot of cloths from there,” Luz pointed towards a shop with large bright letters before gasping, Amity whipping her head back towards her in alarm. “We can get matching cat hoodies!” she grabbed onto Amity’s arm and pulled her towards the shop. 

They entered the shop and Amity was immediately overwhelmed with the amount colors and the music playing in the shop as she wrapped one arm around Luz, her ears flattening to the sides of her head. Luz turned to her worriedly as she noticed the witch’s anxious expression, pulling her off to the side quickly. 

“Are you okay Ami?” Luz noticed the girls eyes darting all over the place, from the bright lights to the speakers and to the crowds of people milling around the store. “Heh, maybe someplace a little bit quieter,” she led Amity out as the witch smiled gratefully at her. 

“No, no it’s fine,” Amity moved to try to pull Luz back, “I was just caught off guard.” 

“Ami its okay,” Luz smiled at her as she pointed at another shop across the way, this one seeming to be a lot less crowded and flashy as the other store, “I want you to be as comfortable as possible.” She said, pulling her across the way and into the other store.

The moment they entered the other store Amity felt herself relaxing, the dimmer lights feeling better on her eyes as Luz pulled her over to a few racks of cloths, both of them looking through the selection as Amity pulled out a few items. 

A soft gasp from Luz made her turn around, looking over at the human girl to find her holding another beanie, stars in her eyes as she ran over to Amity. “Try this on,” she said, taking off Amity’s beanie and putting the other one on, grabbing her cheeks as the starstruck gaze seemed to get even brighter. 

“Que lindo,” she said, taking out her phone, “We have to get this for you.” She said, Amity reaching upwards and touching the soft material of the beanie, her head tilting as she felt a tiny protrusion from the top. Luz pulled the hood of her jacket up, pulling Amity against her side as she held out the camera, Amity blushing with a small smile as she tried not to look at how adorable Luz looked, posing for the picture. 

There were several small clicks as Luz’s phone rapidly took pictures, the human girl pulling it back toward her and looking through them, turning the phone to show Amity. Luz had pulled Amity against her in the photo, her hood up with the cat ears as Amity had on a matching black beanie with two small cat ears on it, a nervous smile on her face in the photo. Luz looked at her phone fondly, tapping away at the screen, “Definitely the new background picture,” she said, Amity flushing slightly. She turned back to the rack of cloths, hoping to hide the blush on her face. 

Only a few moments later her phone buzzed in her pocket, the witch pulling it out to see that Luz had sent her a copy of the picture, Amity casting a quick look behind her before making it her own phone background and slipping her phone back into her pocket and burying her face in a shirt to hide the blush that had reached her ears. 

“That’s a good shirt,” Luz voice was right next to her, causing Amity to jump and laugh nervously. 

“Yeah! I was just, testing to see if the material was any good.” She said, inwardly wincing at the dumb excuse. 

“Oh yeah, I like hiding inside my shirts too, have to have that perfect comfort ratio for cloths.” Luz nodded in agreement, Amity once again thanking the Titan for Luz and her charming quirks. 

“Mhmm,” Amity made a noise of agreement before grabbing a few other muted colored shirts off of the rack. “I think I’m good with these.” She said, desperate to keep the day moving. “Oh, and I need to put this back-” She reached up for the cat ear beanie, almost grabbing it before Luz’s hand caught hers. 

“No, I mean, it looks good on you Ami, you should get it.” Amity could only blush and nod, stiffly following Luz to the front of the store as they made their purchases, putting back on the cat beanie at Luz insistence when they got outside. 

“Where to now?” Amity asked, Luz checking the time as they stood off to the side, letting the crowds move past. 

“Well, I was thinking that since you have to go see Eda tomorrow to get that paperwork, maybe we could get her some human stuff to sell, and maybe some back up phones for her and maybe other people, like your brother and sister.” 

Amity’s face fell slightly, her eyes shifting slightly towards the ground, “I don’t know if they would even want one.” Her hands gripped tighter to the bags, feeling her nails dig slightly into her hands. “They seem to just want me around to pull pranks, and even if Emira came to warn me…” she went silent, Luz stepping closer and putting a comforting hand on her back. “What if they are happier I’m gone?” 

“I’m sure they aren’t, they care about you, it just might be hard to show it.” Amity looked up at Luz in confusion, the human trying to be reassuring. “I mean, it doesn’t sound like your family was the best at showing affection, I even had to teach you what a hug was.”

“Luz no one in the Isles knew what a hug was until you came along.”

“And thats just wrong!” Luz posed dramatically, “Everyone should receive hugs, and should know that they are appreciated.” Amity smiled softly, blinking away the slight moisture in her eyes. 

“Thanks Luz,” she bumped into her with her shoulder, something that Luz was quickly calling the ‘Amity hug’; the teal haired witch was not great at expressing affection, Luz only being able to coax out a genuine hug when they were alone. 

She smiled, giving an answering nudge, she knew how it felt to be alone, after all, before the Isles she hadn’t had any friends herself, and she never wanted anyone to go through feeling like that. “Come on,” she pulled the witch along, “Lets grab Eda some crazy human stuff, and some extra school supplies.” 

They walked through several other stores, picking up things that Luz swore the Owl Lady would like, sometimes giggling to herself as she put a particularly strange item in the basket. Passing through one of the aisles Amity slowed down, starting at a selection of art supplies with a longing expression. 

“What are you- oh.” Luz came over to her and stopped by her, “I guess you didn’t get the chance to bring many of your things when you left huh?” Amity shook her head slowly as Luz walked over, adding a pair of sketchbooks and a set of pencils to their cart. 

“Wait those are expensive,” Amity scrambled for them, clutching them as she looked back and forth between their cart and the display. “I just have the snails that Eda gave me, and I don’t want to waste her money when it’s not on stuff for her.”

“Then we can use my money,” Luz pulled out a few wrinkled bills from her pocket, Amity starting at her in shock, “I mean, I know you liked to draw, and that you probably miss it, and besides If Eda just gave you all of that she can probably get me more.” 

Amity let the art supplies fall into the cart, smiling softly as she gave in, Luz celebrating in victory, “But you have to draw Luzura,” she said teasingly to Amity, “that is my price.” She got giggles in response from the young witch, Amity rolling her eyes before agreeing. 

The two of them made their way through the store before Luz stopped, pulling on Amity’s sleeve. She turned to look at where the human girl was pointing; at the end of an aisle was a large display, a huge cardboard cutout of Azura, with poster next to it that announced the release date of the 6th Good Witch Azura book. 

Both of them looked at each other, matching expressions of glee on their faces. Amity’s hands started to fidget, a smile stretching across her face as Luz peered closer. The poster advertised a sample of the new work on the official website as Luz jumped in excitement. 

“Let’s go Amity,” Luz grabbed their things and started towards the front of the store, “We have to get home, I have to show you something.” Amity followed along, both girls caught up in the good news as they hurried to leave the store as quickly as possible. 

—

The moment that the front door opened Luz raced upstairs, dragging Amity with her as she hurried her onward. Flinging the door to her room open she dumped the bags they had on the ground, running over to her bed and opening her laptop. Amity stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking around the room, smiling softly as she noted the various Azura posters and hand drawn art that was hung around the room. 

Luz looked up, patting the space next to her, “Come on, I have to show you this.” Amity walked over, sitting down gently beside Luz, consciously leaving a small gap of space. Luz immediately scooted over, pressing their legs together as she shifted the laptop onto both their laps. Amity blushed a bright red at the contact and tried to focus on the strange device in front of her, her eyes immediately lighting up upon seeing the words at the top of the screen. 

‘Azura Book 6’, the words were bolded at the top of the screen, Amity feeling her leg start to bounce as she turned to Luz, with a questioning face. “Is this the whole book? Did it come out yet? I thought the poster said that it wasn’t out yet?”

Luz’s eyes were drawn to the witch’s ears, freed from the beanie and now twitching; it was a mirror to the excited expression on her face and Luz felt excitement well up within her, matching the witch, “No not yet,” She said, Amity’s face starting to fall slightly, “But this is the first chapter. They put it out early to get everyone excited, and I thought,” she rubbed her hand on her neck nervously, “maybe we could do a special meeting of the Azura book club? So we can read it together.” 

“Yes,” the words had barely left Luz mouth before Amity answered, blushing slightly as she tried to scale back her excitement, the twitching of her ears and bouncing of her leg betraying her. 

The two of them turned to the screen, both getting lost in the preview, letting out small gasps and sounds of delight as the first chapter seemed to fly by. The last sentence made luz gasp as in the book Hecate stared forlornly after Azura, wishing that she could only tell her how she really felt. 

“This could mean that Azurate could be actually a thing! I knew that Hecate had feelings for Azura.” She said, her mind racing with ideas. 

“What’s Azurate?” Amity asked, tilting her head in confusion. 

“It’s the ship name for Azura and Hecate.” She was met with a blank stare, “From Fanfiction? Fanart?” Amity just shook her head slightly as Luz’s eyes widened, grabbing one of Amity’s hands, “I have so much to show you,” She said breathlessly. 

She turned back to her laptop, starting to pull up sites as she started to explain, “I was so excited to find out that other people also wanted Azura and Hecate to get into a relationship, that’s shipping, because I hadn’t seen much of that representation. I always thought they would be so good together.”

“Me too,” Amity cut in, “I… I mean their magic works really well together, and I think it would be cute.” She trailed off, Luz putting her laptop to the side as she turned towards Amity, her eyes shining with joy. 

“Exactly! Their magic is just so compatible, and it would be so great to have their relationship in the book, I know that seeing people talk about them getting together and reading stories of it happening was great for me when I figured out I was Bi.” She rambled, freezing up as the last sentence slipped out of her mouth, resisting the urge to clap her hands over her mouth. 

“Bi?” Amity said with confusion, “Is that a human thing?” 

“Uh yeah,” Luz stammered out, her mind was torn, she didn’t think that there was a problem with telling Amity, I mean she knew about Willow’s dads, and she thought that Azura should be with Hecate too, so it would be fine right?

“It means I like guys and girls,” Luz said, making sure to breath as her heart hammered in her chest, “Well anyone who is super cute really,” she looked shyly at Amity, a stunned expression on her face. 

She likes girls!! Inside of Amity’s mind she was celebrating, she had figured that Luz would not demean her feelings if she ever got the confidence to confess, but now there was an even bigger possibility that she could like her back. 

“Are there other words for stuff like that?” she asked breathlessly, Luz smiling as her fingers drummed against her leg. 

“Yeah lots!” she counted off on her fingers. “There’s gay, that is like Willow’s dads, lesbian, like Azura and Hecate, and even words for if you don’t really like the idea of romance at all.” Amity’s mind raced, making sure to take a deep breath before spitting out.

“I like girls.” Her mouth snapped shut, Luz relaxing as she smiled widely. For some reason, hearing that made her heart beat faster, a warmth flooding through her chest. 

Both girls shared a soft smile, Luz turning away as her cheeks started to heat up, noticing her laptop cast to the side. “Right!” she yelped, Amity jumping slightly, “I still have to show you so much stuff,” she grabbed her computer and slid back over next to Amity, now acutely aware of how easy it was for their hands to brush against each other as she launched into an explanation of fandom.

—

Camila yawned as she turned the corner, taking a sip from her coffee as she drove home. The early shifts at the hospital were understaffed after Laura had to move, meaning that the team had to shuffle around shifts. She didn’t mind the occasional few early days but hopped that they could find someone to fill in soon. She was ready to go home and rest for a small while before picking Luz up from school, maybe even discuss getting Amity started at the same school in the next few days. 

She took the last turn as she neared the house, noticing Amity crossing the road, her duffel bag slung across her shoulder. She watched as the young girl looked around before slinking into the trees off of the road, Camila pulling over to the side of the road. 

Was she okay? Did her parents find her? Or did she feel unwelcome? She opened the car door, worrying about the young girl, she got the sense that Amity was not a thief, or trying to hurt her or Luz, but she couldn’t deny that there was something about the girl that was, off almost. 

Trying to keep far enough behind the young girl she followed her through the trees, a short while later finding herself approaching a clearing, the trees opening up to reveal a small open area with a dilapidated old house, the only notable thing about the house being a strange door with a large painted eye on it. 

Amity looked around slightly before knocking on the door before stepping back, there was a moment of silence before it flew open, the contrast of light from inside only allowing Camila to make out a shadow of a figure as she moved closer. 

“Hey kid,” a scratchy feminine voice came from the figure in the door, “how are you holding up?” the figure stepped out, giving Camila the chance to see her. The woman was tall, reaching over 6 feet easily, and had a large mess of Grey hair. She was wearing a red dress that was torn stylishly at the bottom. Camila narrowed her eyes in confusion, there seemed to be a large gem set into the womans chest, and a large gold canine tooth poked out of her mouth. 

“Good, how are you Mrs Eda?” Amity said, a disgruntled noise escaping her throat as Eda ruffled her hair, trying to set it back to how she liked it as Eda laughed. 

“Just Eda kid,” She put a hand on Amity’s shoulder, “How’s Luz? She couldn’t come today?” 

So this was Eda, the camp councilor who Luz had told her about; Camila shifted closer, something holding her back from entering the clearing. “She had school, but really wanted to come. Oh, she helped me get you some stuff.” Amity reached down and opened her bag, Eda diving in and pulling out several random objects. 

A few cell phones, several containers of coffee, a large bag of googly eyes that Eda shook with a delighted laugh; the items that the two pulled out seemed to be completely random. How did they even get the money for all of this extra stuff?

“Nice work kid,” Eda put a neon pair of sunglasses on, throwing the bag behind her into the house, “Hey King! Empty out the little Blights bag for me will ya!” A high pitched squeak answered her voice, the tall woman chuckling before turning back to the young girl. “Owlbert grabbed some more snails for ya,” she rummaged around in her hair, Camilia squinting in confusion before her mouth fell open. “Here ya go kid.” Eda handed Amity over a large stack of bills that were tied together. There must have been a couple hundred dollars bundled in there. How did this woman have extra money to hand out, and didn’t Luz mention that Owlbert was an owl? How did an Owl get their hands on that much money?

She was shaken out of her thoughts by Amity’s voice, the young girl thanking her before she seemed to remember something. “Oh, wait, Luz said you would like this.” She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small ball, Eda staring at it in confusion. 

“What’s tha…” her voice trailed off into a soft cooing noise as Amity squeezed the ball, the small object lighting up with flashing lights. “It’s shiny and flashy and I must have it.” Amity giggled as she tossed it to Eda, the older woman lunging for it, missing and stumbling face first into the side of the house as she fell over, Amity unable to hold back a laugh, Camila glad for the noise as it masked her own chuckles. 

“Very funny kid,” Eda rubbed her nose as she clutched onto the toy, “I guess you don’t want these?” she pulled a set of papers from seemingly nowhere, Amity gasping. 

“You were able to get them.” She said breathlessly. 

“Like some human paperwork is going to stand up to the Owl Lady,” Eda posed dramatically, her hair seeming to puff up in pride, “It was nothing, and should hold up just fine.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“What do you take me for kid?” Eda scoffed jokingly, “Human security is nothing for me to crack, I’d stake my hand on that.” 

Amity smiled slightly, taking the bundle of papers and clutching onto them tightly. “Oh and kid,” Amity looked back up at Eda as she spoke. “You’re sister stopped by yesterday, anything I should pass on to her if she ends up coming back?” 

“Was she okay? Did she say anything about my parents?” Amity seemed timid in her question, clutching the papers tightly to her chest. 

“Apparently your folks are still turning the Isles upside down looking for you. But your sister was fine, she was more worried about you.” A look of confusion crossed Amity’s face, Eda smiling softly. “Yeah she cares about you kiddo,” she placed a hand on Amity’s shoulder, “I mean Lily and I have been fighting for years, but I still care about her, and I’d hope if I suddenly dropped off the map she would come looking for me.” 

“Your sister and you might not get along all the time, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about you.” Amity smiled up at the taller witch, Camila watching with a soft smile on her face. 

She could see how this woman was able to connect with Luz. She slowly backed away from the clearing, suddenly feeling like she was intruding on a personal moment. As strange as this Eda seemed, she seemed like she could be trusted, and Luz was a good judge of character, even if said character seemed to be caught up in some very strange situations, and had a very odd reaction to shiny objects. Huh, Camila thought, a smile crossing her face as she wondered if that love of shiny objects would translate well to laser pointers. 

—

Whispers echoed through the halls of Hexside, for the past few days the only thing that people could talk about was the big question, ‘Where was Amity Blight?’

The witch known for never skipping a day of school had been gone for a few days now, and no one had heard anything from her. Willow and Gus had been fending off questions from curious students the whole day, the student body having learned that Boscha and her crew did not know or care where Amity had gotten off to, and that trying to get any information from the Blight twins would get them moved to the top of the pranking list; so they turned to the two other people who had spent the most time with Amity before her disappearance. 

Willow and Gus walked through the halls after lunch, trying to keep to themselves as Willow got the last few things out of her locker that she needed for the day. They hadn’t heard from Luz in the past couple days, outside of her letting them know that Amity was safe in the human realm. They turned to walk to the last class of the day, both planning to go see Eda after school to try to get some answers. 

Suddenly two sets of arms reached out of the lockers, pulling both young witches into a large circular room, doorways covering every surface. Standing in front of them was Emira and and another witch, a girl with a fish-hook earring, Viney if Willow was remembering correctly. 

“Hey Gus, Willow.” Emira said with a small wave, a small nervous smile on her face. The two witches waved confusedly back at her, looking around the room. This must be the secret room that Luz had told them about that the detention track students used. 

“Where’s Edric?” Gus asked, looking around for the other blight twin, Emira wincing slightly at the question. 

“Covering for me in class,” she shifted from foot to foot slightly, “He just knows I had to do stuff, I didn’t tell him what was going on.” Viney patted her back as the two younger witches stared in shock, Emira doing something without Edric was almost unheard of. 

“Why?” came Gus’s confused question, Viney opening her mouth before Emira patted her hand. 

“It’s fine, they deserve to know if I want their help.” She cleared her throat, “You two know what happened with Mittens?” the two younger witches nodded, “Whew, I really didn’t want to give that whole recap.” 

“Well after hearing that they wanted Amity to go to… that place,” She shot a nervous look at Viney, “I first thought it was fine right? Like our parents always said that becoming a productive part of society was something to work for, and me and Edric never really thought about it. It was never something we had to worry about before.” 

The green haired witch stared away, seemingly into the distance, “But something about it felt wrong, so I asked Edric if we should help, and we agreed that we should at least ask around. So I talked to Viney, and she told me what really went on in the…”

“Conformitorium,” the dual track witch cut in, Emira nodding. 

“I couldn’t let them send Amity there, I know we had our pranks, and fights, but, I won’t let them send her there, especially for something that I was just as guilty of. Edric… Edric would help, but I need to make sure that there is no way our parents would find out what we are doing.” The room fell into silence as everyone soaked in the information.

“What exactly is it that you are doing?” Willow asked curiously, slightly on guard but trying to diffuse the now awkward silence. 

The older witches shared a nervous glance before sitting down, the younger witches copying them as Emira sighed, “I went to the Owl House yesterday to see Eda, I wanted to see if she had heard anything from Mittens.” Her face grew dark, a scowl on her face. 

“She told me that our parents had put a tracking glyph on her, and that there probably was one on me too.” She pulled up her sleeve, waving a hand over her arm, a spot light washing over it. There was a pause before a glyph lit up on her arm. Willow and Gus peered closer, the illusions witch reaching out but pulling away before he could touch the glyph. 

Gus pulled out a notebook and started to jot down a sketch of the glyph, his tongue poking out of his mouth in concentration. “A tracking spell,” Willow said, rubbing her own forearm, “How would they even get that.” 

“Probably from the council, or emperors coven,” Emira sighed, Viney rubbing small circles on her back in support. “Somehow Mittens got rid of hers, which is why we are here.” 

A door across the way opened up, two more figures walking in, Viney giving a small smile to the green haired witch before going over to greet them. “Hey guys,” she gave both a small wave, turning to the rest of the witches in the room. “Everyone this is Jerbo and Barcus, the other two-trackers.” 

“Are you sure we can trust them Vin?” Jerbo raised an eyebrow at the three witches, “I know Luz hung out with them but,” 

A bark interrupted him, Barcus resting a paw on the side of his leg and giving a nod. “Alright alight,” Jerbo sighed, “Barcus says your auras are good, and that we can trust you. What did you need us for?” he turned to Viney, who nodded towards Emira. 

The green haired witch cleared her throat, “You three are the only students who are in multiple tracks, and Viney says you can be trusted.” She shot a small smile towards the girl, “And these two are friends of Luz and Mittens.” Willow waved, Gus looking up from his small notebook and giving a small smile before going back to copying the glyph down. 

“Viney told me that you know oracle and potions magic,” Emira went over to Barcus, “My mother was in the oracle track, and she knows how to get the truth out of us.” She let out a shaky sigh, “I need to figure out some way to keep her from figuring out what I know.” 

Barcus cocked his head, Jerbo and Viney kneeling down as they started to talk amongst themselves, asking occasional questions to Emira. Willow looked at the glyph that Gus had drawn out, “That could be useful.” 

“Yeah,” Gus gave a small smile before flipping through his notebook, showing a few other glyphs, “I found a few others too,” He fished his phone out of his pocket, “Luz told me that she found some of the glyphs using this human phone, so I thought I would try to find as many as possible for when Luz comes back.” 

“Good plan,” Viney cut in, the three multi-track witches moving over to them and looking over at Emira. “We’re in,” she said, Barcus giving a supportive bark as Jerbo nodded. 

Emira smiled, a sigh of relief escaping her, “We are going to figure out a way to make a memory potion strong enough to make me forget all about this glyph, so that my parents won’t have any idea that I know about it.” Emira looked around at the rest of the witches, a determined look on her face, her lips curling into a satisfied smile, the glyph shining out in stark relief against her arm, “And then we are going to figure out how to get this fucking glyph off my arm.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did Eda do with all those googly eyes you may ask?   
> Let's just say that the next day Lilith woke up and every item in her house (including her palisman) had googly eyes put on them.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Hope you all enjoyed!


	6. A Witch's Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity prepares for the most dangerous of arenas, high school.  
> Luz learns some truths about the human world.  
> Back on the Isles more preparations are made.

Amity sat upright on the bed, a notebook open on her lap as Luz paced in front of her. “Now,” Luz said, holding a large binder in her hands, “before you start human school there are a few things you need to know.” She said, turning to stand at attention, mimicking a a military stance as she cracked open the binder, revealing to Amity that on the front was a large title, ‘How to Survive High School’ written in small letters on the side in purple sparkling ink were the words ‘Witch Edition.’

“I have combed through hundreds of high school AUs to compile this tome,” Amity already starting to scribble notes, unable to stop herself from beginning a sketch of Luz’s face on the side of her pages. “And it should help you keep people from discovering that you are a witch.” 

“Number 1!” Luz said, starting to pace again as she traced her finger across the words, “humans learn multiple subjects, we take all of them at once.” Amity raised her hand, Luz grinning to herself as she pointed at her, “Yes Amity.” 

“How do you specialize if you take all of them at once, isn’t that hard to figure out what you want to do after school.” 

Luz waved her hand in front of her, “Pshh, thats what you have more school for after that…” she trailed off, tapping her finger on her chin, “Huh… actually thats a good point, but, its how it is done.” Amity shrugged, scribbling more notes into her notebook. 

“Number 2! How to deal with dress code and your cute ears.” Huh, that wasn’t what she wrote down, Luz shook her head, missing Amity choke on her breath and try to calm down the flush that spread across her face. 

“Whats,” Amity coughed, her ears perked up and slightly twitching, drawing Luz’s eyes to them, “What’s a dress code? Is that like the uniform that we have to wear? Is it bad that I don’t have a uniform?” 

“No, no, we don’t have any uniforms, but there are rules of cloths, and they might make you take off any beanie or not wear any hoods.” She tossed the notes onto the bed, going over to Amity, reaching over and pulling her hair tie out, stepping back as Amity’s hair fell down, Luz nodding to herself. “That could work,” the witch’s hair had fallen around her ears, covering her ears but also showing more of her auburn roots. 

Amity sputtered, trying to reach up and redo her hair as she flushed, “Luz!” she hissed out, holding her hair in place as she glared at the human girl, “What was that.” 

“It worked,” Luz sheepishly said, handing back Amity’s hair tie as she laughed nervously, “And your hair looks good down, it hides your ears well too.” Amity paused in the middle of putting her hair back up, freezing in place as she sighed, continuing to put it back to normal.

“If I have to,” Amity grumbled out, turning her head to mask her blush. “But what if someone sees my ears? What do we do then?” 

“Hmm,” Luz thought for a moment before checking her notes, “We can just say its like, a genetic thing, or you are super into cosplay!” Amity blinked in confusion as Luz pulled out her phone, “Okay adding those to the list of things to explain,” she muttered, putting her phone back into her pocket. “Either way we can figure out an excuse and no matter what we can do it together!” she pumped her fist, Amity giving her a wide grin as a slight blush colored her cheeks. 

Huh, Luz thought, narrowing her eyes, moving closer as she peered at Amity’s mouth. “Wha… what is it? Is there something on my face?” Amity scooted backwards slightly as Luz drew closer to her. 

“No, its just,” Luz peered closer, remembering the two of them sitting close together a few nights ago, Amity illuminated by the glow of the television with her fang poking out of her lip. “Your fangs look like they grew, I didn’t know they could do that.” 

Luz blinked as Amity nervously laughed, the laugh revealing her fangs, yeah they were definitely longer, Luz thought. She reached out her hand unconsciously, stopping before she touched the witch’s fangs. Bad Luz, she thought, quickly withdrawing her hand and coughing in embarrassment, you can’t just tough people’s faces like that. Especially when it’s Amity who is already not great with affection. 

Amity’s heart was pounding against her chest, her mouth dry as she watched Luz pull away, what was that, she screamed to herself in her head. Why did Luz seem to be so interested in her fangs? What did that mean? 

“I guess fangs might be a bit harder to explain than ears,” Luz said, flashing a nervous smile, “Gotta be careful of those probably…” she trailed off, coughing again to try to clear the sense of awkwardness that came over her. 

“Y…Yeah,” Amity stuttered, trying to stop her heart from hammering against her ribs, probably loud enough for the human girl to hear, she thought. 

“Anyway,” Luz scooped back up her notes, her voice raised in nervousness, “Let’s keep going.” She cleared her throat again, running through the list of topics of topics that she had prepared before there was a knock on the door. “Yeah mama,” she called out, almost letting out a sigh of relief at the interruption. 

Camila opened the door, resting against the frame, “Mija, didn’t you say that your friends were going to come by next weekend?” she said, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Amity had lunged for a beanie, jamming it onto her head as Camila raised her eye slightly. 

“Yeah, we were planning to all meet up and go hang out at the mall. Eda is driving them over.” Luz said, trying to step in front of her mom’s line of sight. Luz had planned the visit from Willow and Gus since she had come back to the human realm, and now that Amity was here she didn’t have to worry about if she could come over. “Is that still okay?” 

“Of course mija,” Camila gave Luz a one armed hug, ruffling her hair slightly, “But I wanted to see if you could get Eda to come over as well, I would love to meet her and have her stay for lunch, after all she did so much for you and Amity.” 

Luz’s eyes widened, looking over at Amity as both had matching expressions of shock, nervousness obvious on their face. “Sure mom,” Luz gulped, “I’ll ask her if she is free,” 

A smug smile made its way across Camila’s face, “Good, we have so much to talk about.” Luz felt herself start to sweat as she looked at Amity, the witch looking at her in total confusion. Camila turned to leave, stopping at the door, “Oh Amity,” 

“Yes,” Amity responded rapidly, wringing her hands together. 

“We have a meeting tomorrow with the principle of Luz’s school, in order to get you enrolled. Make sure you have everything you need okay dear?” she smiled reassuringly at the young girl, walking out of the room and gently closing the door behind her. 

The two girls shared a fearful look, an awkward silence falling over the two. “Well.” Luz said, turning to blankly stare at the door. “What do we do now.” 

Amity shrugged as she looked at the door, “we have to tell Eda right, warn her or something.” Luz nodded pulling out her phone as she sent a text to her mentor, a sense of nervousness still hanging over her. This was not going to go good.

—

As the car pulled up to the front of Luz’s school Amity stared in nervousness at the harsh look of the place. It was so different from Hexside, so small and squat. Camila got out of the car, Amity following her as they made their way towards the building, clutching the papers that Eda had given her to her chest.

It was early morning, Luz having already started school at what Amity thought was an unreasonable time in the morning, as opposed to her usual schedule, and it was only a short while later when Amity found herself on the way to have a meeting with the school principle.

The two of them made their way into the building, Amity taking in how different it was from Hexside, no roaming guards, no magical explosions echoing down the halls, no teachers trying to contain the plant labs. “Its so quite,” she said unconsciously, staring around and trying to memorize everything she could about the building. 

“I’m sure it will be much busier later on,” Camila patted her shoulder reassuringly, Amity flashing her a small smile, trying to remember what Luz had said about trying to seem as human as possible, her smile a bit tight on her face as a result. 

They arrived at a reception area, Camila signing them in as they were waved into an office, greeted by a middle aged woman who shook Camila’s hand. 

“Ms Noceda, please sit down.” Camila took a seat in one of the chairs, Amity dropping down into the other empty seat in front of the desk. “You must be Amity then,” the woman said, Amity nodding in response. “I’m Mrs Hendricks, the principle here.” she said, reaching out her hand, Amity copying the gesture that she saw Camila just do, taking the woman’s smile as her guessing the correct response. 

“So you would like to be enrolled in our school,” she said, Amity nodding before she cleared her throat. 

“Yes,” she said putting the papers down on the desk as she sat back in the seat, trying to keep perfect posture. 

“Amity is staying with us for a while, and we wanted to make sure that she didn’t skip any school, so while she is here we figured that she could come here.” Amity nodded along to Camila’s statement, letting the older woman take the lead. 

Mrs Hendricks took the small pile of papers, flipping through them she hummed slightly. “Well Amity, your record from your previous school seems quite good,” she put down a official looking report card, Amity glancing it over to notice that Eda had created a fairly accurate replica of Hexside’s grading sheets, having replaced Principal Bump’s name with her own and a small three toed paw print on the lower right hand corner. 

“Your grades look good, and you have all of your paperwork, I think we just need to get your schedule figured out and you can start today, me and Mrs Noceda can go over all the rest of the paperwork while you get settled into class.” She pulled out a couple sheets of paper, one of them a map and the other a blank schedule. “You must be friends with Luz if you are staying with her for a while,” she said, Amity nodding again. 

“Okay,” she marked down a few classes on the schedule, circling the rooms on the map, “We can put you in a few classes with her so she can help you get settled in. Now you have a free period for study hall, and one elective,” she slid a sheet of paper over to Amity, the witch looking over the choices as the other two started to fill out paperwork. 

She waited a few minutes as she looked through the list, clearing her throat as she circled the class she wanted with a pen. “I’d like to take art please,” she said, inwardly quite excited to be able to take it as a class. She loved drawing, and she never thought that she would be able to take it for an actual grade. 

Mrs. Hendricks filled in a few more things on the schedule, sighing it before passing it and making a mark on the map, “Now we are here, and you just have to take the long hallway to your right, and then your first class should be two buildings down, do you think you can find the way? Luz can guide you after that.” 

“Yes Mrs Hendricks,” Amity said, pushing her chair in as Camila passed her the backpack that they had stocked with some supplies that morning with a reassuring look. 

“Have fun at school, I’ll see you and Luz after classes today.” Camila gave her a quick hug, Amity unable to respond as she made her way out the door. 

“Oh Amity,” she turned as Mrs Hendricks looked at her, “We don’t allow hats inside of the classroom, please make sure that you take that off before class starts.” Amity nodded, inwardly thanking Luz for her help going over their options, pulling her beanie and hair tie off as she walked down the hall, shaking out her hair slightly as she ran her hands through it, stopping for a moment to check in the one of the windows that it covered her ears before moving on. 

Looking at her map a few times she found herself already at the first classroom, checking her schedule as the neat handwriting read English, room 301, Mr Garcia. She took a deep breath, cracking the door open as she made her way into the room, freezing up as the room turned too look at her. 

She looked around, starting to make her way towards the front of the classroom and the teacher as she felt a sense of calm come over her. This was school, this is what she was good at and where she knew how to act. She caught motion out of the corner of her eye, glancing over to see Luz frantically waving at her. She giggled silently, giving a small wave back as she walked over to the teacher. 

“You must be Amity, right?” Mr Garcia said, Amity nodding. 

“Yes Mr Garcia,” Amity felt herself relax, the familiar environment making her feel more at home than anywhere else since she had left the Isles. 

“Wonderful,” he turned to the rest of the class, pointing over by Luz, who patted an empty seat, “you can go sit by Luz, as you two seem to know each other. Now class we have a new student, Amity Blight,” there were a few small shuffling noises as Amity received a couple waves and a few longer glances, sitting down by Luz as the girl whispered a welcome. 

“Now back to our books, Amity you can share with Luz for now just see me after class and we can get you your own copies of the books,” Luz scooted her desk over, both of them hunching over the book as Mr Garcia began to go over the readings, Amity already opening up her notebook as she started to take notes.

A small note slid over her desk, Luz having doodled a small smiley face with a short message, ‘Glad you made it okay’, Amity smiled, slipping the scrap of paper into her pocket as she gave an answering smile. She fell into an easy rhythm of note taking, shooting small glances at Luz when she had a moment, her confidence increasing as she was able to answer one of the questions correctly the first time, Luz giving her a small nudge and a smile.

Finally something in the human world she understood, she thought, excited for the rest of the classes of the day; and if she got to spend most of the day with Luz, then that was even better. 

—

“How about this one?” Viney poured a small amount of a bright purple concoction out onto a small flower, everyone holding their breath as nothing appeared to happen, everyone letting out a breath after a few seconds. “Okay Gus, mark that one down as non explosive.” 

Gus made a tick mark on a large sheet of paper, “and check. At least we have moved past the constant explosive part of potion making.” 

Barcus let out a few quick barks, Gus waving him off before Jerbo could even translate, “yeah I know it’s hard to make potions,” he said, looking around as everyone stared at him in confusion, “What, I wanted to interview him I had to learn how to understand him.” 

Emira shook her head, patting him on the head fondly, rustling his hair, “No wonder Mittens hangs out with you nerds.” 

The door creaked open as Willow entered, holding an armful of plants as she carefully lowered them onto the ground, giving a sigh of relief as she shook out her arms. “Okay I brought some of the stuff you needed from the plant labs, but this was all that I could get without anyone noticing.” She sat down next to Gus, greeting the rest of them with a tired wave. 

“Thanks Willow,” Emira thanked her, Viney throwing her a box of juice, pulling from a large bag that was helpfully labeled ‘Snacks not Ingredients’, “We should be able to use these, or at least rule them out as useful.” She said, nodding to Gus who held up a checklist helpfully. 

Barcus turned to Jerbo, barking out a set of instructions as he tore a few leaves off of one of the plants and tossed them into the cauldron. “He says that we might need to make a trip out to the knee for a few ingredients soon, he might be onto something.” 

“What do you think it could be?” Emira leaned over the potion, Viney having to pull her her away from the billowing smoke by her shoulders. 

“Well,” the girl explained, trying to hold back the too curious Blight, “Barcus thinks that maybe we can almost like, over load the spell somehow? And then modify your memory with a potion, we just would need to keep the antidote some where safe. Barcus says that it is a bit dangerous to keep the memories hidden for a long time.” 

Barcus looked at her sternly, letting out a few short growls, Viney rolling her eyes. “And he says that there could be risks of permanent brain damage, so you have to make sure to hide it in a place where your dumb parents won’t find it.”

There were several answering barks, Viney sighing at Barcus, “Yes I know you didn’t add in that her parents were dumb but it needed to be said, alright.” She waved him off, turning back to Emira, “But yeah, so got any spots in mind.” 

Emira scuffed her feet against the floor, awkwardly glancing around at the rest of the group, all of them looking away as she met their eyes. “Well,” she cleared her throat, why was this harder without Edric there to back her up, she thought, “I was kind of hoping that you could hang onto it, and make sure I get it in time.” 

“Me?” Viney asked, blinking in confusion, looking around to make sure that there was no one else in front of the girl, “I mean yeah, but why me?” 

“You didn’t have to help me,” Emira smiled as she looked down, “I know me and Ed have pranked pretty much everyone, but you actually tried to help, and now you are here, just, for Titan knows what reason, helping me despite getting nothing.” Viney’s face relaxed into a soft smile. 

“Plus you are really cute,” Emira muttered, coughing into her hand right after as Viney cocked her head in confusion. 

“What was that last one?” 

“I said Puddles is cute okay!” Emira flushed, huffing slightly as she tilted her head away trying to hide her blush, internally promising that she was going to apologize to Amity the next time she saw her for all the teasing she did about her crush on Luz, how was this so hard?

“Oh, that is true Puddles is a cute assistant. I can bring her around more often if you want, she just isn’t that good with potions, last time she knocked over a couple of Barcus’s potions and that’s why she isn’t allowed in the hideout any more.” Viney perked up as she talked about her assistant, glad that Emira seemed to like her. 

“Alright lets try this batch out,” Jerbo held up a small flask, a bright purple liquid swirling around inside of it. “This should work, and we have the antidote, probably,” he looked at Barcus who nodded, “Okay yeah we have the antidote.” 

The group looked around, everyone reluctant to try the potion out before Emira sighed, “Give it here,” she grabbed the potion, squinting at it, “How do I do this.” 

“Just, think about what you want to forget, and then down it. Though you probably don’t want to think about anything super important, just in case.” Jerbo shrugged a bit, “Don’t want that lasting brain damage.” He said as Viney elbowed him in the side gently. 

Emira hummed as she looked at the potion, a mischievous glint entering her eyes as she downed the potion, her eyes flashing purple for a moment as she shook her head, trying to clear the fog that was hanging over her head. 

“Em? Em everything okay?” Viney shook her shoulder slightly, Emira blinking as she nodded slowly. 

“Yeah, I mean I don’t know what I have forgotten so at least that part works,” she looked around, noticing everyone staring at her in anticipation, she cocked her head as she stared at the group, pointing at Jerbo, “Who are you again?” 

Barcus and Viney burst into laughter, Willow giggling slightly as Jerbo sputtered. Viney rolled her eyes and handed Emira the small vial of antidote from the stock they had prepared. The green haired witch downed it, her eyes glowing purple before it faded and she smirked, “You did say to forget something that wasn’t important.” She said, shrugging as the smirk grew with everyone’s laughter. 

“Real funny,” Jerbo smiled slightly, rolling his eyes as everyone’s laughter died away, “At least we know it works,” the group nodded, everyone growing quite for a moment. 

“Now we just need to figure out how to get the patch off,” Willow said, everyone nodding solemnly. 

The bells of Hexside went off, everyone jumping slightly as the noise echoed through the room. Emira sighed, looking down at her scroll, “I have to get home, Ed can only cover for me for a little while before my parents get suspicious.” She gave a halfhearted smile as she picked up her bag, “Thanks everyone, honestly, just a little longer to go and then we can bring Ed in too.” She slipped out of the door, Gus and Willow starting to pick up their things as well. 

“We should get going too,” Willow said, the three dual track students nodding as they started to clean up. 

“Should we go to the knee tomorrow?” Viney asked, putting the cauldrons back into the potions classroom, “We can take Puddles she loves the snow.”

Barcus responded, Jerbo nodding at the answer, “Yeah Barcus needs more ingredients, and I want to see if I can grow some of the rarer plants on my abominations.” 

“Okay,” Viney corked the last of the potion up and put it in a small box, “We should meet up by the beast track stables tomorrow then.” She waved as the two left, Willow and Gus leaving as well, leaving her alone in the hide out, letting out a long sigh as she made her way towards the stables. The things she did for that girl, she thought, smiling a bit as she rounded the corner and saw Puddles sleeping soundly in her stall. Well at least she thought gryphon's were cute, that was a start, she thought, going over to cuddle with her assistant. 

— 

Amity muttered as she stared at the books in front of her, there was so much to catch up on. Just as Luz said, there seemed to be no real specialization in human school, which meant much more work for her than she was used to. Just because she was in a different realm did not mean that she was going to slack on her studies, she thought, taking a deep breath. 

Perhaps there was a top student badge, Amity told herself while flipping through some of the books in front of her. She pulled over her notebook, flipping open a page and looking at the neat checklist of assignments that she made. Just like back at Hexside she might have had to work extra hard to get the top spot but she would. 

If she wanted to get through school smoothly, she was going to have to study even harder to figure this out, and maybe Willow could sneak her stuff from Hexside, she thought smiling, shaking her head before she returned back to her school work. 

History seemed to be the best subject to start with, Amity thought, clearing away the rest of the books as she started to read. Her face paled as she read the page, unable to take notes or tear her eyes away from the page. As she reached the bottom of the page she jumped up, bolting out of the room as she swung open Luz’s door, about to shout a question as she saw the human girl sitting on the edge of her bed, holding her glyph notebook in her hands as she stared at it. 

She stood in the doorway, frozen in embarrassment as Luz turned around, looking at her quizzically. “Sorry,” Amity chuckled nervously, “Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah,” Luz smiled, something about it seeming stiff and forced before she sighed, glancing back down at her notepad. “Not really.” 

“Can I come in? Or do you need-” 

“Yeah, come in.” Luz’s voice was thick with emotion, Amity cautiously sitting next to her. Luz looked up at her with a small smile, “I think I’m ready to try doing magic.” 

“Oh,” Amity looked at the notebook, an almost completed light glyph on the page. Her eyes glanced to Luz hand, tapping the end of the pencil against the paper like the rhythmic beat would help focus her. She wanted to grab her hand, tell her it was going to be okay either way, that Luz was magical no matter what. 

“You seemed scared when you ran in here, is everything okay? Didn’t see a ghost or something? Ohhh are ghosts real too, I bet they are.” Luz broke into a smile as she bounced in her seat, the pencil rapping out a faster beat against the notebook, a small smile making its way onto Amity’s face. 

“No, no ghosts,” she leaned in a bit, blushing slightly as she looked around furtively, “We aren’t, I mean, where is Salem?” Luz looked at her, blinking in confusion, “You know,” Amity flushed in embarrassment as her ears pulled back against her head, her voice dropping into a whisper, “where they burn witches.” 

Luz laughed, doubling over in a fit of giggles as Amity flushed further, crossing her arms as she hissed, “Luz this isn’t funny, you didn’t tell me that humans hunted down witches, or that there were trials, or-” she was interrupted by Luz gently grabbing her hand, Amity looking up and looking into brown eyes swimming with laughter. 

“I’m sorry Ami,” Luz said, Amity internally sputtering with the nickname, “I just forget sometimes how different the human world is the Isles, but you don’t have to worry, that was, well that doesn’t happen any more.” Amity gave her a disbelieving glance as her eyes narrowed slightly. 

“I’m serious, people don’t go after witches any more, most people don’t even believe in them any more.” Luz patted her hand as she reassured the witch, smiling softly at her. 

“Alright,” Amity said grumpily, a small smile trying to creep its way on her face. 

The smile faded slightly from Luz’s face as she looked back down at the unfinished glyph, sighing slightly as she resumed her one sided staring contest with the paper. 

“You know,” Amity said, struggling to find the right words to say to her friend, searching for something that could help her, “You are the first human to ever do magic, you figured out a whole new form of magic when no one else could, you can do this too.” 

Luz flashed her a grateful smile, taking the pencil and clutching it tightly, closing the glyphs circle as she hovered her hand over it. She had spent so many hours pouring over every scrap of information that she could find in the Isles, long hours spent scouring the wilderness with Eda and King, the three of them trying to connect with the isles, trying to find every glyph that they could. 

Amity was right, she thought, the portal is still there, she is still Hexside’s first all track student, and the first human to learn magic. Nothing could take that from her. She brought her hand down onto the glyph, both of them holding their breath as the glyph started to light up. 

The paper lit up, starting to curl into the ball of light before the paper crumbled, turning to ash as it slipped out of her hands, her heart plunging through her chest as she reached out, trying to catch any of the scraps as they dissolved into the air. 

She frantically drew another glyph, and another, and another; all of the glyphs dissipating into thin air when they were touched, Luz starting to shake as she wrote out glyphs. Amity reached out, grabbing Luz’s hands to try to stop her from writing out more glyphs. Her hands brushed against the one of the finished glyphs on the pages as her eyes widened as it started to glow. 

It felt like she was punched in the gut, the wind pulled out of her as the glyph slowly curled up on itself, her face twisting in confusion and slight pain as discomfort spread across her chest. Luz wrapped her arms around the witch’s shoulder as she pulled her away from the glyph. The glyph held its mostly folded shape for a moment, before collapsing down into a small ball of glowing purple light hovering in front of the two of them. 

Amity took deep breaths as Luz squeezed onto her shoulders, both of them staring at the floating light. “What was that…” Luz said, her voice shaking slightly. Amity shook her head, trying to collect herself. Luz looked down at her, relaxing her grip slightly, “Are you okay?” 

“I feel better now,” Amity said, giving Luz a reassuring smile, “Just, really hungry, like I skipped dinner.” The discomfort had settled into an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach, her heartbeat slowing down considerably. 

“Hold on, let me get you something,” Luz raced out of the room as Amity heard her scramble down the stairs, laying down as weakness overtook her body. Luz darted back into the room, holding a few snacks as she sat down, helping Amity up as she tore into the food Luz was holding. 

Two of what Luz called granola bars and one large sweet bar of candy were consumed within a couple minutes, Amity almost instantly feeling better as the food hit her system. She sheepishly looked at Luz, feeling a bit embarrassed at the lack of manners. 

“Wow you really were hungry,” Luz said with a giggle, “What even happened? One moment you touched the glyph then the next bam!” she threw her hands into the air to punctuate it. “Hungry Amity.” 

“I… I don’t know, but Luz,” Amity looked at the human girl sitting next to her, feeling her clarity return to her. “I’m sorry.” She said, her hands wringing together in her lap. “I don’t know why it didn’t work for you, and I know that you really wanted it to.” 

“Yeah,” Luz said, her expression falling before her smile came back, a bit forced but at the same time Amity recognized the determined look that she had grown so fond of growing stronger as Luz spoke. “It sucks, and I am really disappointed, magic was something I have always dreamed of, and being able to do it was fantastic.”

“But, I know it exists now, and I can always go back and see Eda and cast more magic. Even better,” she said, taking Amity’s hand slowly, Amity forgetting to blush as she looked on in wonder at the human witch’s face, “we have a mystery to solve. You were able to cast the magic, even if it was super weird and made you hungry, and maybe if we look further at it we can figure out something to help Eda.” 

“Besides,” she shot a small grin at Amity, all forced qualities fading from her smile as she started directly into Amity’s eyes, “I could never forget that magic exists with you here Amity, you’re magical all by yourself.” 

This was it, Amity thought, her ears starting to twitch uncontrollably, moving rapidly as her free hand started to flap in joy, this was how she died. A bright blush spread across her face, spreading to the tip of her ears as she tried to contain a squeal of glee. 

Luz looked away, rubbing her neck shyly, “Sorry that was probably too mu-”

“No!” Amity yelled, clapping her hand over her mouth before she giggled and pulled her hand away, “No, I just,” she cast her mind around for any form of excuse, “I am happy to be here, I mean you and your mom didn’t have to take me in, but you did.” She breathed in deeply, you can do this, she thought to herself. 

“You have your own kind of magic too you know.” She internally celebrated getting the line out as she clamped her mouth shut, unable to continue to look at Luz. 

A blush started to crawl across Luz’s face as her heart beat faster against her ribs, a warm feeling bubbling up from her stomach, how could Amity be that sweet? Even when she was in a totally new world she was still trying to help Luz. She thought, feeling the disappointment that she was carrying from her failure to cast a glyph dull some at the girls statement. A smile burst onto her face as the heat on her cheeks spread further.

Luz unconsciously rubbed her thumb across the back of Amity’s hand, suddenly aware just how right it felt to hold Amity’s hand. If this was a scene out of some of the fiction that she read she would be kissing Amity right now, she thought, the idea springing to her mind as her heart started to pound in her ears. That thought was crazy, wasn’t it? She stared at Amity, the witch looking bashfully away as her ears twitched, an expressiveness to her that Luz loved. 

How could she have once thought that Amity was cold and mysterious? The softly blushing girl in front of her was nothing like the one who had clashed with Luz early on. Amity started to pull her hand away, stammering out an excuse about having to catch up with all of the homework that she had to do as she fled the room, Luz watching her go, finding it hard to look away from her friend. 

She stared down at her hand, still feeling the soft warmth of Amity’s hand as she gently flexed her fingers. She should hold hands with Amity more often, she thought, the feeling of the witch’s smaller hands in hers suddenly the only thought in her mind. She caught sight of the notebook of glyphs on her bed, picking up it up gently, like the entire notebook, and everything that connected her to magic, would dissipate into the wind just as the failed glyphs did. 

The strange feelings that Amity made her feel would have to wait, she thought, starting to jot down ideas on why the glyphs worked for the witch but not her; besides, she thought, that was all stuff that you wanted to do with super close friends right? Wanting to hold hands was normal, she saw people doing that all the time at school. 

She ignored the tiny voice in her mind telling her that she was wrong, that she wanted much more than that, as she dived back into her ideas, pushing that voice out of her head and hoping to have something to show Eda the next time she went back to the Owl House, diving back into magic as she wrestled with her strange new thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading!  
> I hope everyone is staying safe and taking care of yourself during this time of anxiety and stress.  
> hope you all enjoy the chapter and will be posting the next one soon.


	7. A day of preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emira has a couple of hard conversations  
> Luz and Eda prepare for a day in the human realm.  
> Camila goes digging and finds only more answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> thank you all for your patience on this upload, life got very busy with school but I am back now  
> thank you to everyone who has read, kudoed, commented each one makes a world of difference to me. super excited to see people enjoy this fic  
> A requested scene is included in this chapter, when we finally find out some of the uses that Eda had for Luz and Amity's gifts.

Emira tossed the small device back and forth between her hands, leaning back against the bookshelf and sighing. The soft lights inside Amity’s hideout threw shadows around the room, for a moment she found herself wishing that one of them were Ed; he always knew what to say when it came to figuring out this complicated stuff. 

She held up the small device that she had been given by the Owl Lady earlier that day, something the witch called a phone, and had given it to her along with a brief explanation of how to use it; a conversation that Emira almost tuned out of until the moment that the older witch mentioned that it was something she could use to reach Amity. She had run right here afterwards, carrying the phone as well as 2 backups, one for emergencies, one for Edric. 

A long sigh left her lips as she tapped on the phone, the screen lighting up as she navigated to the call menu, recalling exactly how to go through with contacting Amity. She pressed the button that the small demon, King she thought it was, told her made the noise louder and almost jumped as a loud ringing noise filled the room. 

The noise continued for a few moments, repeating itself a few times before a click was heard, and a familiar voice came out of the phone. “Hello?” Amity’s voice filled the hangout, hitting Emira like a punch to the gut as the breath was driven out of her. 

“Hey Mittens.” She managed to get out, her voice sounding raspy as her chest filled with emotion. 

“Emira…” Amity breathed out, Emira swore she could detect a bit of surprise in her voice as she spoke. 

“It’s me,” her lips turned up in a small smile as she spoke, “You surprised to hear from me?” she said teasingly.

“Yes,” the quick answer left Emira stunned, barely able to listen to the rest of Amity’s sentence, “I didn’t… how are you able to even call, and…” her voice grew quiet over the phone, a trembling note to it that wasn’t there before, “Why are you calling?” 

“Because I was worried,” the answer slipped out of Emira’s lips before she realized it, “Me and Ed come home from a night out and you are gone, and Mom and Dad are furious, and then they talk about sending you away to the conformitorium; and I get only a few minutes before you get hurried away through a portal to who knows where in the human world, and then I learn that we have tracking glyphs stuck on our arms!” She took a calming breath, trying to center herself as she tried to let go of the frustration, reminding herself that she wasn’t angry at Amity, and she didn’t want her sister to think that she was.

“Saying that our family is good at affection is, well, overstating it” she chuckled darkly, her head falling into one of her hands, feeling her elbow dig into her leg with the extra weight, “You had to deal with them all by yourself, and I didn’t see any of it.” She heard Amity take a deep breath from across the phone. 

“It’s fi-” 

“You know it’s not fine,” Emira interrupted, “Me and Ed always had each other, but you, I mean Titan Amity the last time that you had a friend Mom and Dad forced you to get rid of her.” She sighed, silence falling over the call, “We all thought that what Mom and Dad was doing was normal, and at least you figured it out in time. Or maybe you always knew, maybe that is why Ed is afraid of being alone, maybe we all knew that they just weren’t good parents.” 

“I had help,” Amity’s voice was gentler, “Luz, Willow, Gus, Eda,” she laughed softly, “Sometimes even you and Ed.” 

“Me too,” Emira laughed, “I guess its hard to see it from the inside.” She grinned slightly as she coughed, trying to change the topic, her eyes uncomfortably filling with emotion, “So how is Luz?” 

“Luz is good,” Amity said quickly, her voice raising a pitch upwards, “She has been so nice and helpful, and her mother is just, I can see how Luz grew up to be so kind.” 

“I see,” Emira laughed, “Making sure her mom likes you before asking her out, that’s the Mittens I know.” 

Amity sputtered, trying to deny it frantically as Emira laughed. “How is Edric?” Amity said quickly, Emira’s laugh dying as she leaned back, tossing the other phone up and down with one hand. 

“He is good,” she said, hoping that would be enough to throw off Amity. 

“Just good? Is he there too? Does he know what happened?” the questions rushed out of the phone, Emira internally cringing with each question. 

“He…” Emira tapped her fingers on her leg, “I told him that you are okay, and that mom and dad couldn’t find you, but not everything… you know mom, she can always figure out if we know something… and I didn’t know to keep it from her.” She struggled for words, floundering for what to say. 

“You should talk to him,” Amity’s voice was confident, Emira’s lips twitching up into a grin. “You two always knew what to say to each other, and whatever it is, you can trust him.” Emira laughed softly. 

“You are too trusting Mittens,” she smiled ruefully, “Mom tried to get us to help her find you, she was livid when she said that she lost track of you, and thought we knew where to find you.” She laughed, “Ed has been giving them fake leads, holding them off while I try to figure all of this out.” She tapped a few vials that she had together in her pocket, extra memory potions that Viney had given her just in case. 

“I’ll tell him.” She said, her expression hardening in determination. Another voice came from the phone, muffled a bit by the door as Amity answered back.

“I’ve got to go,” she said, pausing for a moment, “Thanks for calling Em.”

“No problem Mittens,” Emira smiled, “I’ll get Ed to give you a call soon.” 

“Thanks,” Amity said, giving Emira a quick goodbye before the phone went dead. Emira sighed, pulling herself up as she sneaked her way out of the secret room, avoiding the librarians as she left the library. 

The walk home passed by in a blur, Emira cautiously pushing open the door, not noticing anyone as she sighed in relief, making her way up the stairs. Edric’s door was open as she walked over, leaning in the door frame as he looked up from where he was laying in his bed. 

“Catch Ed,” Emira tossed him one of the phones, Edric making a quick spell circle as the phone floated over towards him. 

“Whats this thing?” Edric turned it over in his hands, Emira walking over and throwing herself down into one of the chairs. 

“Human phone,” she said, giving Ed a small smile, “It has Amity’s number in it, the Owl Lady gave me a few.” 

Edric stopped turning around the phone, staring at the screen with a anxious expression. “How is she?” 

“She’s good,” Emira’s grin grew, “Mitten’s is staying with Luz.” Edric laughed, the two of them chuckling together. 

“She must love that, want to take bets on if they get together before she comes back?” 

“30 snails,” Emira stuck out her hand, Edric snorting and shaking it. 

“Cheapskate,” he snorted. He turned back to the phone, a soft smile on his face, “Thanks Em.” 

Emira felt the weight of the potions in her pocket, at the moment they felt like they weighed more than the entire Isles. She closed her eyes and sighed. “There is more.” She opened her eyes and saw Edric watching her patiently. 

“Mom and Dad were able to figure out what happened to Amity so fast because they have tracking glyphs on us.” She blurted out, Edric’s face frozen in shock. 

“They stuck tracking glyphs on us, and I have been trying to figure out how to get rid of them, and I am worried that if we do figure out how to take off these things that mom is going to figure it out and it will all be for nothing.” She paced back and forth, Edric still in shock as he sat up on the bed. 

“I have these,” Emira pulled out the vials, “it’s a potion that makes you forget specific things so not even oracle magic can find it.” She leaned against the wall, running a hand through her hair, her braid loosening as strands came loose and hung around her shoulders. “She can’t know, I don’t want her going after Mittens, I don’t want to go to the conformitorium, any of us.” She finished desperately.

Edric stood up, walking over to Emira and snatching one of the potions out of her hands, staring at it before looking back up at her. “Mittens is safe?” Emira nodded, “And you will tell me when you figure out how to fix this? When you know how to get these glyphs off of us?” Emira nodded frantically, reaching out to take the potion back.

“Alright, make sure you hurry.” Ed said, and right before Emira could take back the potion he uncorked the small vial, downing the whole potion as his eyes glowed a soft purple, before he stared quizzically at her. 

“What were we talking about again?” Emira gave him a watery smile, clapping him on the back gently. 

“How we are totally going to pull a prank on that one classmate of Mittens that keeps badmouthing her.” Edric laughed, launching into a prank planning session as Emira sighed softly and looked at him fondly. Soon, soon I’ll have this figured out, she thought, joining in on the latest plan to prank Amity’s old friends, figuring that a small bit of revenge pranks against the girls who had been spreading rumors about her sister would make her feel better. 

\--

The loud noise of the Bonesborough market was calming to Luz, finding herself zoning out as she strode along side Eda as they went on a materials run. “So kid,” Eda said, inspecting a bundle of herbs that seemed to be hissing at her, “what was it that you wanted to tell me again?” 

“Oh,” Luz had to tear her eyes away from a display of baby griffins to answer Eda, giving her a sheepish grin. “Yeah, my mom wants you to come over when you let Willow and Gus through this weekend. She wants to talk to you about stuff.” 

Eda paused, her hand half reached out to grab ingredients as she looked at Luz, her eyes narrowing slightly in confusion, “Is that a good or bad thing?” 

Luz laughed nervously, looking around and taking in the sights of the market. Owlbert was perched on top of Eda’s head, sleeping soundly in her hair, and a bundle of ingredients was slung over her shoulder. “I mean,” a loud roar shook the market, rallying cries from the coven guards answering the cry, “earth is, well a lot different than the Boiling Isles.” 

“I have been to the human world before kid, I told ya, I am an old hand at this.” She posed proudly as the commotion grew closer, Eda looking around before swiping some of the ingredients and hurrying Luz over towards an alleyway. “Now come on, don’t want the law to catch us out here in daylight,” Luz sighed as they entered the alley way, turning to face the older witch. 

“That is what I mean,” she said, leaning against the wall, “My mom won’t understand what you mean if you say stuff like that, and I want her to at least let me come and visit so I can do magic.” 

“Can’t you do magic at home?” Eda asked, the items around her floating into her bag as Owlbert perched back on her staff. “I thought you would be practicing like crazy ever since the day you got back.” Luz sighed, her eyes downcast as she kicked the ground, mumbling under her breath. “What was that kid? I can’t detach my ears to hear any better you know.” 

Luz looked up at Eda, the older witch immediately realizing that something was wrong by the look on her face, she had never seen the usually energetic human look so downcast. “My magic doesn’t work in the human world.” Luz said, trying to keep her voice steady. 

“Oh.” Eda tossed her staff from hand to hand, wondering what to do; Luz had loved magic from the day that she appeared in the isles, and knowing that she couldn’t practice, or find new glyphs… Eda reached out and tousled Luz hair, making sure that Luz was looking at her. “Alright kid, what do I have to do.” 

“Really?” Luz’s eyes lit up, launching forward and giving Eda a hug, Eda patting her on the back. 

“Yeah really, you are my apprentice after all, and what kind of mentor would I be if I let my kid slack off when she is my best student.” She laughed slightly, “Well only student, which your friends need to remember kid.” She gave a halfhearted glare towards Luz, the girl not picking up on the gesture at all as her face seemed permanently locked in a wide grin. 

“Alright!” she jumped in victory, pulling out a large group of papers from her backpack, “I prepared a list of things about the human world for you,” she dumped the papers into Eda’s hands the witch starting to shuffle through them. 

“Some basic ones: no mentioning the being on the run from the cops, no mentioning that you aren’t human, you are a camp councilor at a human camp, and you ran away from home when you were young to study forestry in protest of your parents because they did not understand your passion.” Eda raised her eyebrow over the list of papers, Luz chuckling weakly as she scuffed one of her shoes on the ground. 

“Sorry, I got a bit too into the back story,” she said, Eda laughing gently. 

“Alright kid,” she pulled her bandanna from her pack and over her head, covering her pointed ears as she posed dramatically, “How do I look, this human enough to fool your mom?” a spider crawled out of her hair, Luz watching as a small hand reached out and snatched it, dragging it back into the grey mess. 

“Umm… there is something in your hair?” she said, wincing as Eda shook her hair, a small pixie cursing as they were dislodged from her hair and hit the side of the wall. 

“Get out of here you free loader!” she shouted, “If you are gonna stay in my hair pay the rent,” she yelled after the small magical creature as it flew away hissing.

“Maybe you could wear a suit,” Luz shrugged, “And maybe comb your hair?” she added, internally shivering at the thought of what could be inside of her mentors hair. 

“What’s a comb?” 

Luz answer was interrupted by a crash at the end of the alleyway, both turning to see a tall figure standing over some fallen boxes, the shadow striding forward into the light and revealing Lilith, clutching her staff with a furious expression. 

“Lily! How are you?” Eda threw open her arms in welcome, “I was wondering if you would find my gift this morning.” 

Lilith pointed her staff at Eda, a strange noise coming from it as Luz peered around Eda, doubling over in laughter as she took in the sight, leaning against the wall as she giggled uncontrollably. 

“You!” Lilith growled out, “Every single day this week, I find these… things covering my possessions, and now my palisman.” Eda’s smile widened, taking in the sight of Lilith, her arms shaking in rage, each slight movement to her palisman creating a clacking noise. 

“I’m sorry,” Eda cackled, leaning one hand on the wall and snorting in laughter, “I just, can’t take you seriously.” 

The staff made a clack as Lilith held held it up, the base hitting the ground and sending the two googly eyes that were on the palisman rattling as she huffed. “Edalyn stop this nonsense and come with me,” She took in bundles of ingredients, noticing the bags forming under Eda’s eyes. “It’s getting worse isn’t it?” 

Eda turned and looked at Luz, putting one hand behind her as she gently pushed Luz back, pulling out her staff as she narrowed her eyes at Lilith. “I don’t see why that is any of your business,” she said, Luz’s eyes widening. 

It had been a whole month since she had left, and even before that Eda had been struggling with her curse. Luz felt a wave of guilt wash over here, she had been so worried about how to fix things in the human world that she hadn’t even had time to think about Eda’s curse. 

The sound of footsteps on the cobble stones outside caused Eda to step back, placing a hand gently on Luz shoulder. The moment that the emperors coven rounded the corner, she jumped, Luz moving with her as Owlbert swooped under them, both Eda and Luz leaning into the motion with practiced ease despite her troubled thoughts.

“Are you alright Luz?” Eda’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts, soaring above the tops of the houses of Bonesborough, Luz looking up to see her mentor giving her a worried look. 

“Yeah!” Luz laughed, putting on a smile as she pushed down her worries. Eda had enough on her mind without worrying about her anxieties, she thought, trying to make a convincing laugh. 

“Just have a lot on my mind, human school and everything, you know how it is.” 

“School, blegh,” Eda gagged, “Still say that its useless no matter what realm you are in.” Luz felt her smile grow more genuine as the sense of normality returned, looking out over the Isles as Owlbert carried them back toward the Owl House. 

All she had to do was make sure that Eda and her mom didn't hate each other, and then she could get to trying to figure out the curse and how to help Amity. That couldn’t be too hard right?

\--

The clock seemed to tick by slower and slower as the hour dragged on, Camila taking a swig of coffee as she grimaced at the bitter taste, the break room had been out of creamer that morning and she had to push through the bitter taste in order to get through the rest of her shift. She finished filling out the chart, hanging it back on the door as her phone went off, the constant vibration in her pocket causing her to blink in slight surprise as she chided herself for being startled. 

She fished out her phone and turned off her alarm, a sigh of relief as she saw that it was time for her break, moving around to the central station as she sank down into a seat, giving a grateful wave to the other nurses as they relieved her. She cast her eyes around and sighed, mumbling to herself under her breath, “now let’s see if we can find you,” she logged onto the computer and waited for the database to load up. 

The loading bar seemed to crawl as she drained the rest of the coffee, sighing again as she pulled out a small notebook, flipping it open to a blank page as she adjusted her glasses. The computer finally loaded up, a search bar at the top of the screen opening up as she typed in the words carefully, Amity Blight. The computer started to load up the results, Camila inwardly cursing the fact that the hospital still wouldn't replace their old system, even years after it had broken. 

A slowly revolving blue wheel flashed on the screen, Camila grumbling slightly. She had been unable to get the conversation that she overheard between Amity and Eda out of her mind, seeing the papers that Amity brought to the school had sealed it. A quick google search had revealed that there was no such Hexside Academy that existed in the states, and a brief search for some of the information that Luz had given her about the girl had turned up nothing.

The pit of worry that she felt for the girl had only grown stronger in the previous days as strange things kept popping into her memory. Amity would flinch if hands got too close to her head, she was evasive and rarely smiled, and seemed to be fiercely protective of her belongings. The fact that she was overly polite and seemed to be very anxious in general did not help her opinion of Amity’s parents. 

Luz had a high opinion of the young girl, and Camila agreed with her; Amity seemed to be a good person. Plus, Camila thought with a smile, anyone who was that hopelessly besotted with her daughter and could make her smile like that was good in her opinion. 

The soft beep of the computer made her look back up, blinking in surprise as she leaned forward, adjusting her classes to make sure that she was seeing the screen correctly. There were no results. No names printed on the screen, not even a hit for Blight as a surname. “What…” she muttered, shocked at the results; this had never happened before, sometimes there would be some sort of surname that popped up. 

Quickly typing she tried to just search by the name Amity. A few moments later a short list of names appeared in the hospital database, Camila quickly scanned the list, marking off each name as the details failed to match up; all of the results were people who were too old or in no way could be the Amity who was staying with her and Luz. 

Just who was Amity? She leaned back in her seat as her mind raced through the possibilities. Could her parents have done some sort of home school? Private doctors? Why would Amity need someone to get documents for her? A memory of Amity saying how Eda had helped her get out of her her house popping into her mind. Eda must know her parents, she thought, she would be able to shed more light on this mystery. 

The vibrating of her phone alerted her to the end of her break as she quickly exited out of the database and stood back up with a stretch. She had a lot of questions to ask Eda when she saw her in a few days, and she was not letting the mysterious woman go without answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed!!  
> enjoy this bit of a filler chapter on the way towards next weeks chapter, the long awaited (by me) meeting between Eda and Camila.


	8. Long Fated Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz and Amity catch up with Willow and Gus, the group excited to be reunited.   
> Eda prepares to meet with Camila, with no idea of how the meeting could actually go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!   
> I think I re-wrote this chapter like 4 times to make sure that I nailed it so I hope you all enjoy!   
> the semester is almost over then the updates will speed up lol.

Luz bounced on the heels of her feet, excitably waiting by the front door as she checked her phone for what felt like the fifth time that minute. She had been up since her first phone alarm went off this morning, hurriedly pulling Amity out of her bed and down the stairs to wait for Willow and Gus to show up. 

Amity had her head down on the table as she tried to blink sleep from her eyes, she was not used to getting up this early, especially with having to get up early all week for school. Hexside at least had a somewhat rational start time, unlike human school. 

“Someone isn’t a morning person,” Camila walked into the kitchen, noticing Amity trying to rest her head on the table as she opened the fridge, pulling out some eggs and a few vegetables. 

An indistinguishable grumble came from Amity as she pulled her head up, trying to give a morning greeting. Camila walked pasted her as she moved over to the stove, calling out to Luz, “Mija, stop waiting by the door, your friends won’t show up any sooner than they will.” She chuckled as she glanced at Amity, the girl yawning as she sat up and tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes. 

Luz sheepishly walked in the kitchen, taking a seat next to Amity, “Sorry, I am just excited.” She vibrated in her seat, Amity sleepily smiling at her. 

“Aren’t your friends supposed to come over later?” Camila cracked eggs into the pan, turning up the heat as she quickly diced a few vegetables. “What do you all have planned today?” 

“Mostly just walking around, we might go to see a movie.” Luz tapped her feet on the floor as the smell of cooking food filled the kitchen. “I think Gus would really enjoy going to the mall too.” She turned toward Amity with a smile. 

“He would,” Amity smiled back, chuckling, “you could even get him some stuff to bring back for his club.” 

“That’s brilliant!” Luz grabbed Amity in an one armed hug before bolting up the stairs, “I have to go get extra money for that!” she yelled. 

A plate was slid in front of Amity, the young witch blushing as she stared after Luz before the smell of food refocused her, looking down to see the plate and Camila sitting across from her, a knowing smile on her face. 

“Thank you,” Amity looked down, Camila chuckling fondly. 

“You know,” Camila grinned, “Luz’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks.” Amity’s head shot back up, “would you like to help with the party plans?” 

“Yes.” Amity hurriedly said, cringing internally at how eager she sounded, drawing back slightly and clearing her throat. “If you need help that is…” 

A loud knocking interrupted them, Camila walking past Amity as she patted her gently on the shoulder, Luz barreling down the stairs as Camila opened the door, revealing Willow and Gus standing on the front porch. 

“Willow! Gus!” Luz rushed past and threw her arms around them, the three of them laughing as Camila watched with a fond smile. “Guys this is my mom, mom this is Willow and Gus.” 

“I have heard so much about you two, please come in, we have extra food.” Camila stepped aside, Gus almost about to take a step before Willow chimed in. 

“Thanks Ms Noceda, but we already ate.” Willow tried to keep Gus from peering around Camila, Amity coming up behind her as she waved at Willow and Gus. 

“Yeah we have a lot to do!” Luz grabbed Amity’s hand as she pulled her out of the house, the four of them making their way down the steps as Gus grumbled about missed opportunities for research. 

“Do you have your phone mija?” Camila called out, Luz patting her pockets before smiling sheepishly, Amity tapping her shoulder and passing her her phone as Luz slipped it into her pocket. “Have fun and stay safe, be home before dark its school tomorrow.” 

“Bye mom!” Luz waved as she walked backwards as a chorus of “Bye Ms Noceda” came from the other 3. 

Gus turned to Luz once they rounded the corner, pulling out a small notebook, “I have so many questions!” the two started a rapid fire back and forth, Gus adding in new questions as they passed things that he thought were notable. 

Willow fell back, Gus rambling down his list of questions to Luz, both of them feeding on each other’s excitement as they walked down the street. She fell into pace with Amity, watching the witch stare at Luz with a small blush on her face. “Still got it bad huh?” 

“Wha-” Amity jumped slightly, spinning to face Willow as she caught herself before she tripped, blushing as she turned away. “No, I mean, what do you mean.” She stammered, watching as Willow smiled at her before she sighed in defeat, “yeah.” 

“You were always bad at lying,” Willow smiled, Amity chuckling to herself. “How are you holding up?” 

“With Luz?” Amity wrung her hands, “I mean-” 

“No, well, I mean kind of.” Willow smiled softly, “I mean how are you? With being away from home? And the whole…” Willow pointed towards her forearm, Amity bringing her hand up to cover the small burn mark that was still left on her arm. 

“Oh.” Amity looked down, rubbing her arm nervously. “It’s…” she trailed off as Willow quickly glanced ahead, slowing down as Amity matched her pace. 

“Thanks,” Amity shot her a small smile, starting to talk. “It doesn’t feel real sometimes?” she shrugs as her voice remained low, Willow walking right next to her in order to hear. “Sometimes I wake up and I think that Ed and Em are going to knock on my door and tell me that I am late for school.” She chuckled, her voice slightly wobbly as she struggled to hold it together. 

“Luz is wonderful, and Camila has been so nice,” she turned her eyes to the side, “too nice.” She muttered the last part, Willow only barely able to hear it. 

Silence fell over the two of them as they walked, Willow considering what to say. “Do you remember my dads?” Willow said quietly, Amity smiling as she let out a small laugh. 

“They totally freaked out when we came back with one of those eggs.” The two laughed, Amity feeling guilt pool in her stomach. 

“Do you think they were too nice?” Willow said, Amity thrown off by the question, her mouth opening to answer before her eyes furrowed in concentration. “What about Eda?” Amity squirmed slightly, lost for words. 

“Have you thought that maybe the issue isn’t with them being too nice, or even a problem with you.” Willow stopped, by catching a glimpse of Luz and Gus slowing down, the two of them nodding at Willow as she gently steered Amity off to the side, the four of them finding a bench and sitting down, Luz laying a hand on Amity’s shoulder. 

“You know that right?” Luz said gently, Amity rubbing the hem of her dress between her fingers, nodding slowly. Willow and Luz met eyes as they looked over Amity’s head, both with worried expressions. 

“Do you want to be distracted?” Gus said, Amity frantically nodding as he flipped a page on his small notepad. “Luz,” he said dramatically, “What is a human,” he looked down at his notes before clearing his throat, “What is a spleen?” he drew out the e’s as Luz blinked for a moment before tapping her finger on her chin. 

“I, I don’t know.” Luz patted her side with a confused expression. Amity giggled softly. 

“How can you have a part of you that you don’t get?” she shakily said, a grin tugging at the sides of her lip. 

“I mean we have bones for tails but no more tails.” Gus perked up at that, making notes quickly.

“Humans used to have tails?” Gus said excitably, Luz launching into an explanation about evolution that quickly got the four of them involved as Gus took constant notes. The four of them gradually fell into a relaxed silence, Amity eventually clearing her voice. 

“Thank you Gus, well thank you all really.” Gus waved the thanks off quickly. 

“Me and my dad do it all the time,” he said, “Sometimes you don’t want to think and just have to talk.” 

“I do that all the time,” Luz stage whispered, Amity breaking out into giggles as Willow rolled her eyes fondly. 

“How is Hexside?” Amity asked, turning to Willow. 

“It has been,” she shared a glance with Gus, “interesting?” She took a deep breath, “We have been helping Emira.” 

Amity took a rattling breath in, her eyes widening, “With the…” she trailed out, pointing toward her arm, Willow nodding. “She told me that she knew about it… but she didn’t have time to say anything else.” 

“Have you found anything?” Luz asked, scooting closer to Amity as she rested a protective hand on her arm, Amity blushing as she looked down. 

“Kind of?” Gus said, “We know what might have caused it? And we know how to keep the information away from your parents.” Amity’s mouth opened in shock. 

“How?” she said breathlessly. 

“Energy.” Willow said, “we can overload the glyph with too much magic and it will fry.” 

“Like putting too much power into an abomination…” Amity murmured, Gus nodding. 

“Yeah!” he tapped the end of his pen on his notepad, “either too much magic, or too little magic, and the glyph can’t work.” 

“And my parents?” 

“Memory potion,” Willow started. 

“They can’t find out what you don’t even know.” Gus chimed in. 

“That’s brilliant…” Amity said, a smile growing on her face, “Em and Ed can get free, and my parents won’t even know.” She perked up, Luz smiling as the sense of excitement filled her as well. “Thank you for helping them.” She smiled at Gus and Willow, the two of them returning her grin. 

“No problem!” Gus gave her an exaggerated thumbs up.

“We are your friends Ami,” Willow said gently, “we want to help.” Amity sunk in on herself, seeming to deflate slightly. 

“I just wish we could help,” Luz said, “Maybe we can meet with Eda and try to figure out an easier way to do it, or at least try to figure out more magic.” Luz started to tap her fingers restlessly on her thighs as Amity nodded along. 

A buzz from Luz’s phone shook her out of the conversation, checking the time as she got visibly excited, turning to Amity first. “How does a movie sound?” she said, “There is one that I think you will like and it starts soon.” Amity nodded, Luz standing up and posing dramatically on the bench, pointing down the road. 

She hopped off and offered her hand to Amity, the witch taking it shyly as she was pulled up, the four starting to walk again as they fell into easy conversation, continuing with their day out. Luz smiled as she walked, grateful that Amity was opening up around Willow and Gus. 

\--

A loud rapping on the door shook Camila from her thoughts as she stood up, smoothening out her shirt before she opened the door. The woman in the doorway matched the same person who she had seen in the clearing with Amity, except that her height was much more noticeable up close. With her hair poofed up the woman could easily clear six and a half feet. Camila stuck her hand out, “You must be Eda, come in.” 

Eda glanced down at the outstretched hand, checking for any signs of an oath circle as she immediately felt silly, putting on a smile as she shook the smaller woman's hand. “That makes you Camila, or can I call you Cami?” Camila moved aside as Eda stepped in, taking note of the posters hung around the living room, recognizing the characters from the book series that Luz was crazy about. 

“Either is fine,” Camila chuckled, Eda’s ears perking up at the sound, already starting to internally congratulate herself. “Please sit,  
she gestured to the table, Eda dropping down into a chair as she relaxed. 

“Would you like anything to drink?” Camila poured herself a cup of coffee, turning back to look at the woman seated at her table. “We have coffee, tea, juice.”

“Tea?” Eda said, picking one at random, Camila going over to a container and flipping a switch. 

“Thank you for agreeing to come over,” Camila rooted around in the cupboard for the tea as she called over her shoulder. “Luz has told me a lot about you and I had to meet the famous Eda.” She brought over a cup of steaming water as Eda looked at it curiously, color seeming to diffuse out from the small bag in the cup. 

“So,” Eda relaxed, leaning the chair back before it balanced on two legs, taking a sip of the tea and finding that she liked the sharp smell it had. “Huh, not bad. Could use some extra kick but it’s good.” She looked back up at Camila, the woman staring at her with an expectant look on her face. “Luz told me you have questions for me.”

“Indeed I do,” Camila reached down, hefting a stack of papers onto the table, a pencil in her hands as her glasses slid down momentarily, Eda gulping as she ran a finger on the inside of her collar. 

“You uh,” Eda glanced at the stack of papers as she tried to relieve the sense of nervousness that had come over her. “You look really prepared there.” 

Camila raised an eyebrow, shuffling some of the papers together, “Well, I have plenty of questions.” She said, pushing her glasses into place. “After all, Luz speaks very highly of you, I am sure you can tell me the answers I need.” Eda swore internally, cursing the fact that she pulled out that card so early. Okay Eda, she told herself, its just like a game of Hexes-hold-em, just have to play the game. She ignored the small voice in the back of her head that sounded annoyingly like King telling her that she lost the last game of Hexes-hold-em that she played. 

“Well ask away,” she took a large gulp of the tea and lowered the chair, placing one elbow on the table as she gave a confident grin at Camila. 

Camila smiled, the two of them matching expressions for a moment, before she turned to her papers, letting out a sigh. “Well first off, thank you for looking after Luz, I wasn’t sure that sending her to camp was the right thing to do, but she seems to really have enjoyed her time there, and I think a large part of that was you. I am glad that she had someone there to encourage her, help her make new friends.”

“Well, us weirdos have to stick together,” Eda said, mentally thrown off by the gratefulness. She smiled as she remembered Luz saying the same thing to her when they first met. “Luz is a good kid, she's got lots of spirit, always trying to prove herself and help everyone out at the same time. I’m proud of her.” Her smile softened, “Even if she can get herself into some wild situations.” She tensed as she said that, Camila only bursting into fond laughter. 

“Oh I know, I hope that she didn’t cause any snake or spider related trouble at your camp.” She said, Eda chuckling as she shook her head. “Now, the bigger questions,” Camila took a sip of her coffee, pulling out the records that Amity had brought to give to the principal, Eda trying hard to let on that she knew anything about them. 

“Amity.” Camila’s eyes narrowed, “Is she in any danger.” 

“I-” Eda processed the question, shifting slightly as she sighed, okay half truths Eda, half truths are easier to sell than lies. “She is safe here.” She tried to project confidence, Camila nodding in response. 

“She said as much, she said you helped her get out of her house and get here. She was extremely sure that her parents wouldn’t be able to find her here. Do you know her parents? It seemed that you knew a lot about her situation.” 

Eda scoffed, “Yeah I know the Blights. I went to school with the kids parents, they were pieces of work even back then. Odelia especially, the amount of times I nearly he- ah got into a scrape with her.” She laughed, trying to cover up her near slip up. “But who doesn’t know of the Blights.” She shrugged before the sentence hit her, internally cringing. 

“I don’t.” Camila stated, her expression suddenly serious. “I looked through several places, and no mention of the Blights, no mention of Amity, I mean the girl didn’t even know what a car was.” She leaned forward, Eda noticing her grip the pencil tighter in her hands. “Is Amity safe? Is Luz safe?”

Eda sighed, her hands resting on the table, “I can swear that Amity and Luz are safe here. I am the only one able to…” she trailed off, titan it was so hard to explain this without revealing everything. “I am the only one who knows where she is, and can get here, and I won’t betray those kids.” She settled for being honest, noticing Camila relax a weight seeming to slip off of her shoulders. 

“Thank you,” She smiled, “That was the most important thing I wanted to establish.” She took a long drink, her posture shifting into something much more relaxed.

“It’s fine,” Eda waved away the thanks, “least I could do is keep those kids safe, you know, duty of a camp person and all.” 

“Luz told me about that,” Camila chuckled, “Such an impressive story, running away to work in the woods instead of completing college.”

“Well you know nature,” Eda took another drink, mentally congratulating herself with getting through the questions. “School just couldn’t keep me contained for that long, always felt better out there doing things, learning for myself you know.”

“Some of the stories she has are quite entertaining, do you really have two trained owls?” Camila raised an eyebrow, the smile on her face betraying the lighter mood that had fallen over the two of them.

“Hey they don’t call me Eda the owl lady for nothing,” she bragged, pointing at herself with her thumb. “Hooty and Owlbert may be rascals-” 

Eda was interrupted by a snort of laughter from Camila, the woman coughing as she tried to regain her breath from her laughter. “I’m sorry,” she said, still in the midst of laughter. “Your owls are named Hooty and Owlbert?” 

“Yeah?” Eda asked confused, “I raised the two of them myself, Owlbert is the better one but don’t tell Hooty.” She shrugged, “Or do, you would have to meet him to understand.” 

“I can see why Luz looks up to you,” Camila said, a smile crossing her face before it shifted into something more knowing, Eda caught mid laughter stopping as she felt the strange feeling of walking into a trap. 

“I do wonder,” she said, turning one of the papers around, Eda glancing at it quickly as she saw that it was the false school report that she had given Amity, Camila’s fingers tapping on the top part of the document where Eda’s name was printed in the field for principle. “How did you find the time to learn all about the forest by yourself but also go to school enough to become a principal.” She moved from around the table, Eda chuckling nervously as her eyes darted around. 

“I uh, well I like to keep busy, you know educating the next generation of kids, school is just great isn’t it.” She tried to trace a small spell circle behind her back as she felt her energy dip rapidly, a shifting feeling starting under her skin as she stopped, cursing to herself that she couldn’t use any magic, her reserves drained too much that pushing them further would not be safe. 

She looked back up and met Camila’s eyes, the woman now close to her and peering at her face, her head tilted. “You know I don’t think I have seen a filling like that,” she said pointing at Eda’s fang, the gold standing out at such a short distance. 

“The ladies dig the fang,” She shrugged, tipping the chair back slightly as Camila closed in. “Can’t deny them that?” She laughed nervously, Camila leaning down as a confident smile crossed her face. 

“Eda the Owl Lady huh?” she said, Eda chuckling nervously. Suddenly she felt a small pinch as she flailed, barely catching the chair as she sat half on it, watching as Camila held up a black feather, looking at it with a raised eye. “What exactly is going on here?” she said, leveling Eda with a glance, all traces of humor gone from her expression. 

Eda felt herself sweat, gulping as she looked around nervously, “Well- you see…” she trailed off as she instinctively reached inside of her hair.

“Distraction spell!” She yelled, already turning around as she tossed a bag of hex-mix in the general direction of Camila, hearing a surprised sputter as the bag made contact, Eda already scrambling for the door, inwardly cursing to herself. Oh Titan, how was she supposed to explain this to Luz?

—

It was growing dark by the time that the four witches left the mall, having gone there after leaving the movie, all of them giggling as Gus strained to carry two heavy bags full of human artifacts. “This was fun!” Luz said, walking slightly ahead as she spun in a circle, her hands thrown up in the air. 

“Maybe we could do this more often?” Amity chimed in, shooting a nervous half smile at the other witches, Willow nodding. 

“It would be good to meet up more often, and you could tell us when you are going to the owl house so we could all go there after school. And you are all invited over to my house for Samhain.” Willow added, Amity smiling as Luz tilted her head. 

“Samhain? Like Halloween?” she asked as the others exchanged a confused glance. “You know everyone dresses up and you eat sweets?” Luz was met with blank stares she gasped in shock. “I have to tell you all about Halloween its so much fun! And it comes up in a month!” her hands moved with excitement, her eyes lighting up with the chance to share more information with her friends. 

“We have to go trick or treating together! We can dress up and get candy. Oh Amity we could dress up like Azura!” Luz skipped slightly as she talked, Amity watching her with an adoring expression as she explained Halloween and all the various traditions. Before they realized it they reached the corner of her street, Luz face falling slightly as she realized that Gus and Willow had to go home. 

They stopped as Luz wrapped Willow and Gus in another hug, Amity waving goodbye behind them. “You will have to come back soon! And call us I want to know how your project goes.” Luz said with an exaggerated wink, Willow rolling her eyes fondly. 

“We will Luz,” Willow pulled out her phone, sending a text to Eda to let her know to open up the portal.

“Let us know when you come to the Owl House,” Gus said, “I have been keeping magic notes for you.” 

Luz’s eyes lit up with joy, “Yes!” she pumped her fist, “We have to do some magic practice. I will come over next weekend and we can all practice.” She excitedly made plans before waving as Willow and Gus walked back towards the door, waiting till they were out of sight before she and Amity made their way back towards the house. 

The house was quiet as Luz unlocked the door, calling out as she entered. “Mom! Me and Amity are home!” she walked into the kitchen, coming to a halt as she saw Camila sitting there, chair turned around and obviously waiting for them to return. Luz’s eyes were immediately drawn to the bag of Hexmix in her hands. Those were Eda’s distraction snacks… the thought crossed her mind before her thoughts ground to a halt.

“Mija where did Eda get these, I haven’t seen the brand before.” Luz’s face paled, reaching out to grip Amity’s hand as Camila examined the bag of Hexmix that she held. “You will have to see if she can get a different flavor of these, they are quite good.” Camila looked up to see Luz standing still, her and Amity with matching expressions of shock on their faces. Camila stood up, leaning against the table. “My talk with Eda was interesting,” she started, hesitating slightly on the last word. “But I think it left me with more questions than answers. Maybe you two can help me with those questions?” 

Luz and Amity exchanged nervous glances, both of them trying to think of something to say before Camila sighed, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. “I know that there is something you aren’t telling me,” She started, Luz twitching and shifting from foot to food as Camila talked. “There is too much that is wrong about this, with the way that you all act, the fact that Eda seemed to know nothing at all about the school system, with the fact that Amity doesn’t exist in any records I can find at all.” The witch flinched at that, Camila noticing and taking a cautious step forward and gently resting one hand on each girls shoulder. 

“It isn’t your fault Amity, and you will always have a place to stay here.” Camila smiled reassuringly at her, Amity’s lips twitching up into a small smile as Luz squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I don’t think that whatever is going on is a matter of fault, not yours at the least.” She sighed again, patting each girl on the shoulder. “But we need to talk about what is really going on okay?” 

Luz nodded, gulping as she felt panic roil in her stomach, Amity letting out a soft yes as she clung tight to Luz hand. 

“I called out of work tomorrow, along with calling the two of you out of school. I know that you are tired after a day out with friends, and this is obviously stressful for you two. Do you want to talk about this now or in the morning?” Camila said, Luz’s eyes darting over to Amity, noticing the look of nervousness on her face.

“The morning,” Luz muttered, Camila nodding as she looked at their nervous expressions.

“Are hugs okay mija?” She said, noticing the tension that both girls had. She knew that it was far past time to learn the truth, but she wanted Luz and Amity to know that she was doing this more out of worry than anger, everything seemed too confusing for her to figure anything out, and the only way it could make any sense at this point was having everything brought out into the open.

Luz felt some of the stress melt off of her shoulders as she nodded, pulled into a hug, her mom’s arms tightening around her as her mom whispered to her. “I love you mija, I want you to know that.” 

Tears pooled in the corner of Luz’s eyes, whether from stress or relief she couldn’t tell, both emotions swirling in her stomach as she hugged back. “I love you to mom.” She said softly, a smile crossing her face. 

Camila stood up, Luz noticing that she also had a similar watery smile, before she turned to Amity, the girl looking off to the side. “Do you need a hug too Amity?” she said gently, Amity turning towards her with a confused look on her face. 

Amity’s mind was racing, they had just been told off for lying, all their secrets were going to be exposed, but Camila was still making sure to see if she was comfortable with a hug. With being comforted. She nodded silently, Camila lightly hugging her as she stood there, looking over and seeing Luz smiling at her. “Thank you,” she murmured as Camila pulled away. 

A sad expression passed across Camila’s face as she wondered to herself how much affection the girl was shown before this. She smiled, turning to walk up the stairs before turning around midway up. “Good night girls.” She said before she continued up the stairs, rubbing her eyes with her fingers as she felt the stress from the entire day fall on her shoulders. 

Tomorrow she would sort this out, she would give the kids a bit of time to think, and to calm down, and they would handle it in the morning. This had gone on long enough, she thought, slowly stretching before she got into bed, placing her glasses on her end table as she let herself get lost in thought. 

She groaned as she felt a headache coming on, trying to push her thoughts out of her head. She had given Luz the chance to tell her the truth, tried not to push her too hard, that was all she could do for now. She let the tiredness wash over her, she did her part, now she had to trust her daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we reach the tipping point.   
> Will Luz decide to let Camila in on the secret of the Isles? Does she really have a choice? What will Eda do? 
> 
> Thanks for reading I hope you all enjoyed!


	9. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Camila has figured out something is wrong, and the time for Luz to face the reality that what she had tried to prevent from happening was here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this one started to flow immediately after the last chapter ended.   
> the amount of reception that this fic has gotten is fantastic, over 10thousand views, over 700 kudos, wow!   
> I never expected such reception so thank you to every single reader, your contribution to the numbers feeds my serotonin. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter, was a blast to write.

Luz was up with the first noise of her alarm, her head shooting up from the pillow as she fumbled with her phone, trying to stop the noise that was blaring in her ears. The little sleep that she had gotten last night was only in spurts as she tried to think up something to tell her mom. Noises came from downstairs in the kitchen, Luz’s stomach flipping as the reality of last night set in. Her mom knew. 

What was she going to do? A stirring noise from off to her side made her turn, Amity’s head poking up above the bed as she sat up, the sleeping bag still half encasing her body. Oh, that’s right, Luz remembered, Amity had stayed and had tried to help her think of something to say before the two of them had passed out from exhaustion, Amity grabbing Luz’s sleeping bag despite her offer to have Amity share the bed. 

“Noisy…” Amity grumbled, Luz giggling. Who would have thought that Amity was not a morning person, she always seemed so excited to get to school. Amity’s eyes blinked open, staring for a moment at Luz with a soft smile on her face before she flushed and scrambled backwards, getting tangled in the sleeping back as she fell with a soft thump onto the floor. 

“Are you okay?” Luz swung her legs over the side of the bed, getting up to check on Amity as the witch shrunk inside of the sleeping bag, retreating into it to hide her blush. 

“I’m fine,” Amity’s ears peaked out of the sleeping bag, Luz smiling at the sight. “Do you have any new ideas?” Amity frantically tried to change the subject, her stomach falling as she noticed Luz frown. 

“No, I couldn’t think of anything.” Luz trailed off. 

“Maybe, we could just tell her?” Amity’s voice was hesitant, gaining speed as she continued, “I mean she knows some thing is wrong and she said that I could stay here no matter what and even if she changes her mind Eda can help and I am just realizing I put you into this situation and I am so sorry-” Amity’s eyes widened as Luz knelt by her, taking her hand as she let her ramble. 

“It’s not your fault Ami,” Luz smiled reassuringly at her, rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb, “I’m glad that you came, I missed the Isles, I missed you.” Amity took a sharp breath in at Luz words. 

Luz tapped her finger on her leg in thought, “You said that Eda could help…” Amity nodded at Luz’s response, the girl jumping up and grabbing her phone, “Maybe she knows something that could help us!” she quickly tapped over to Eda’s number, calling her as she started to pace the room, Amity slowly freeing herself from the sleeping bag. 

“Hey kiddo,” Eda’s voice came through the phone, Luz immediately launching into her questions. 

“Eda! We need your help. Can you like, do something with a memory potion? Or something? My mom knows. Also distraction snacks! What happened?” Luz jumped from topic to topic as she rambled, trying to get all of the information out at once. 

“Slow down Luz,” Eda groaned, “Why not just tell her, she is a smart woman, you won’t be able to put it off forever. I mean she figured that something was off with me from the start.”

There was silence as Luz chewed on her bottom lip, “Because I want to be able to go to the Isles, and do magic, and see all of you.” She shifted on her feet, “And I don’t know if my mom will let me do that anymore if she knew…” She trailed off as Eda sighed over the phone. 

“Yeah, I don’t want that either kid.” Eda paused as Luz tapped her fingers on her leg nervously. “Alright Luz, I am gonna come over and help explain.” 

“What!” Luz yelled, hearing the noises from the kitchen pause, “You can’t I mean I have to do this, I can fix it. I just need to know how.” She hissed out. 

“I don’t think this is a problem that you can magic away kiddo, plus I was the one to let you stay in the Isles, I think it would be better if she heard it from me. You aren’t alone in this kiddo.” Eda said, Amity nodding softly as Luz looked in between her and the phone before sitting down on her bed with a sigh. 

“Okay,” Luz said, her shoulders slumping, “Thanks Eda, help would be good. I guess you are right.” She hung up as her body seemed to melt, tension sliding off of her. Maybe Eda was right, she thought, maybe she didn’t have to do it alone. Amity sat next to her, tentatively reaching out and taking her hand. 

“You know Eda is right,” she said, staring at the corner of the room, “You aren’t alone. You have her, all of your friends too. I- we want to help you just like you helped us.” Luz smiled, taking a deep breath as she stood up. 

“You’re right, we can do this.” She posed, copying one of the Azura posters on the wall, “Lets do this!” she bravely marched toward the door, Amity following behind her with a small smile on her face, glad to see Luz regain some of her energy. 

The two made their way down the stairs, slowing down as they neared the bottom as they heard soft humming coming from the kitchen. They peered around the corner, seeing Camila hovering over the stove, the smell of breakfast making Luz’s stomach rumble. 

“I hope you two are hungry,” Camila said, Amity jumping slightly and latching onto Luz’s arm, before letting go with a small blush. They exchanged a glance before walking out. 

“Yeah mom, thanks.” Luz went over and gave her mom a one armed hug, sneaking some food from the plate as Camila laughed, the tense mood starting to evaporate. 

“Bandita,” Camila ruffled Luz’s hair, waving Amity over as the girls took their seats at the table, Luz grabbing some juice before she sat down, sliding an extra cup over to Amity with a smile. 

“So uh, mom,” Luz started. 

“Food first mija, secret sharing after.” Camila placed plates of food in front of the girls, leaning back against the counter as she sipped her coffee with a sigh. 

“Well, okay, but also, Eda will be coming over again.” Luz rushed the words out, Camila stopping mid sip, slowly lowering her cup. 

“She is part of this too huh?” Luz nodded as Camila sighed, Luz looking down before noticing that there was a smile on her mom’s face. “Thank you mija, I guess we will just set an extra seat then wont we.” Luz jumped out of her chair and hugged her mom, a grin on her face as Camila rubbed her back. 

Luz went back to her seat, Camila pulling out an extra plate as she put water on the stove to boil. Luz and Amity had just started to eat when there was a short knock on the door. Luz jumped up and ran to the door, throwing it open to reveal Eda, the witch standing there with her staff and usual dress. 

“Hey kiddo,” Luz grabbed Eda in a hug, the witch patting her head as she laughed, “Yeah good to see you too Luz.” 

“Thanks for coming Eda, even though you did throw your distraction snacks.” 

“Is that what they are called?” Luz flinched slightly at her mom’s voice, “I could have sworn that she called it her ‘distraction spell’.” Eda laughed nervously as she nodded in greeting. 

“Cami, good to see you again.” She grinned, trying to act as casual as possible. 

This time Eda seemed quite a bit more confident, Camila thought, taking in the woman’s appearance. The ripped dress she had seen her in at the clearing was back, and she had a staff with an owl figurine on top of it. She laughed, stepping aside to let Luz and Eda in, “You really have a dedication to a theme, Eda the Owl Lady.” 

“Please its just Eda,” the witch responded, “Eda the Owl Lady is what the cops call me.” Luz’s face paled, as Camila’s eyebrow rose. 

“Is it now?” Luz laughed as she pushed Eda further into the house, her mom’s words seeming to follow her down the hall. “Please take a seat, how does breakfast sound?” 

“Good?” the words came out as a question as Luz frantically nodded, “yeah sounds good.”

The three made their way back to the kitchen, Eda taking a seat as Camila plated up the last of the food, taking her seat as the three witches started to eat, each of them trying to push through the awkward tension that had fallen over the room, the only noise the clattering of silverware against dishes as they started to wrap up their meal.

“So,” Camila sipped her coffee, trying to remain calm even though her gut roiled with worry, “Who would like to go first.” The other three exchanged glances, Luz eventually biting her lip. 

“I didn’t go to camp!” she yelled out, Camila setting down her mug as she grit her teeth with worry. “I mean I meant to,” Luz continued, “but then there was an owl, and magic, and a whole other realm where I could do magic and had friends but then I felt bad and then I didn’t want you to stop me from going and-” Eda put her hand on Luz’s shoulder, halting her rambling. 

“Breath kiddo, breath.” She turned to Camila, “Let’s start this from the beginning. I’m not human.” Camila nodded, her eyes darting from Eda’s pointed ears to her fang. 

“Not human?” she muttered, “what are you then?” she turned to Amity with a questioning look, “Are you also not human?” 

Amity nodded, “yeah… I’m sorry that I didn’t say anything. I didn’t have anywhere else to go, and didn’t know what to say.” Panic flooded her chest as she saw Camila’s lips tighten, apologies dying on her lips as she tried to speak. 

A comforting hand on her shoulder grounded her, looking over to see Eda giving her a worried look before she nodded, the older witch giving her shoulder a squeeze. 

“So, not human. Okay.” Camila told herself to relax, “What exactly are you?” 

“Witches,” Eda answered, grabbing her staff, “and you are looking at the strongest witch on the Boiling Isles.” She tapped her staff on the ground, the owls eyes lighting up as the wings unfurled, Owlbert taking off from the staff as he landed in front of Camila. Eda rubbed her gem, the wind knocked out of her from activating Owlbert, everyone too focused on the palisman to notice. 

Camila sat still for a moment, looking at the small owl that had flown in front of her, now reaching out a wing like they wanted to shake her hand. She reached out with three fingers, taking the wing in a gentle handshake as the owl walked over and jumped on her shoulder. 

“Que lindo,” She murmured, Luz lighting up. 

“Wait until you see King, he is precious!” she bounced in her seat excitably, “And I even found a way to do magic! I mean I can’t do it here but I can do it in the Isles.” She breathed in as her grin widened, “We can take you there!” she looked to Eda excitably. 

“Sure,” Eda shrugged, “The kids can show you their magic, it goes much better there than here anyway, probably easier to explain it too if you see it for yourself.” She said before turning to Camila, “That is if you are fine with it?” Camila tapped her fingers against the table before sighing. 

“And this is where you went instead of camp mija?”

“Yeah I love it there Gus and Willow are from there too.” Luz jumped up and ran up the stairs. “Ill go grab my glyphs.” She stopped midway up the stairs before calling down, “Ami did you have any abomination stuff you need.” 

Amity looked at Camila who nodded, laughing at Luz’s enthusiasm. “Yes please, its in a small jar in my bag.” Luz saluted as she took off up the stairs. 

“Ami huh?” Eda gently nudged Amity, the young witch flushing as Eda laughed knowingly, Camila smiling at them as Luz barreled back down the stairs, clutching a notebook and a small tan jar. 

“I got it!” Luz bounced in place as she stared pleadingly at her mom, Camila looking around before sighing and nodding. 

“Alright, I’ll go see this Boiling Isles,” Camila gave in, laughing as Luz jumped up in joy. “I do want to see the place where you actually went. And don’t think I haven’t forgotten about the fact that you lied about camp.” Luz seemed to shrink under the words, rubbing her neck anxiously. “But I want to know what is special about this place, and it is important to you.” 

Eda stood up, hitting her staff on the tile, “Alright, everyone up lets get a movin. This realm is not great for mama’s bones. Come on Owlbert,” The owl hooted, hopping on Camila’s head. 

“No you can’t stay with Cami,” Owlbert hooted indignantly as Eda groaned, Camila laughing as she reached up and scratched Owlbert. 

“If you are a witch, is Owlbert your familiar?” she asked Eda, Luz jumping into the conversation. 

“He’s a palisman!” Luz said, Owlbert flying over to her and cuddling into her neck. “Every witch has them, and they live on top of their staff and help them do magic.” 

“And bring human trash.” Eda added, Owlbert flying over to her and perching on the staff, seeming to spin and become part of the wood itself. 

“Huh.” Camila looked over at Amity, “Do you have a palisman as well? Or did you have to leave them behind?” 

Amity blushed, lowering her head in embarrassment, “No, you make your staff and palisman when you graduate, and I am still a student.” 

“Hexside’s number 1 student,” Luz hugged Amity, pulling her into her side as she threw an arm around her shoulders. “Principle Bump even said that she was the star student.” 

“Of the Abomination track,” Amity said softly, her face crimson. 

“Yeah these two are nerds,” Eda laughed as she patted the two young witches on the shoulder. She reached into her hair, pulling out a strange looking key from her hair. “Let’s get this moving people, I don’t want to leave King alone for more than one day, who knows what merchandise that little rascal would get into and ruin.”

“But you sell trash,” Amity said, a grin tugging at the side of her lips. 

“And it’s valuable trash don’t you forget it kid.” Eda twirled the key in between her fingers, “Alright Cami, you ready?” Luz tilted her head in confusion. 

“Don’t we need to go to the old house for it to work?” She said confused. 

“Nah, now that I have been here a couple times, and with a spare doorway I can make the portal wherever.” Eda bragged, Luz lighting up. 

“That means you can come over any time!” Eda winced at Luz yell, Camila laughing at the expression.

“We will see mija,” she patted Luz head before turning to Eda, “How is that going to get us there? Will your magic hurt anything in the house?” 

“Noooo?” Eda drew out the word, before shaking her head, “nah it’ll be fine.” Camila nodded, Eda walking over to the kitchen door frame. Holding the key up she clicked the eye on it, the key unfolding as it fit into the door frame, creating a brown door with a large eye on it, the door swinging open to reveal a hallway, cluttered with tilting piles of junk. 

Eda stepped through, twirling around as her eyes glowed yellow, bowing as Owlbert once again took off, taking a turn around her head as Eda drew two small circles in the air, yellow sparks erupting on either side of her. “Welcome to the Owl House!” Camila’s mouth hung open as she blinked, stunned at the sight as Luz clapped wildly. 

“Okay…” Camila said, “Magic is real,” She drained the rest of her coffee, looking at Eda. Her mind was racing as she tried to keep her expression neutral. This was some strange dream, there was no well trained owl who pretended to be a staff. There was a doorway to a magical realm right in front of her, something right out of the books she used to read Luz for bedtime stories. 

Eda was not some sort of scam artist, at least not a human one anyway, and now was standing in an entirely different world casting magic. Luz darted through and spun around, pulling out a scrap of paper and tapping it as a ball of light formed, floating up to hover above her. “And the Owl Lady’s apprentice!” she gave a matching bow as Camila stood in shock. 

Magic was real. Eda and Amity were not human. Luz was a witches apprentice. The facts crashed against her mind, almost too much to absorb in such a quick time frame. She breathed in deep as she struggled to fit her brain around the facts, only pulled out when she felt a hand touch her arm, looking down to see Amity staring at her worriedly. “Are you okay Miss Noceda,” her voice was more timid than Camila had grown used to that week. The fact that it had only been a bit over a week since Amity had come to stay here left her mind reeling before she tried to pull her mind together. 

She let out a long breath and smiled, patting Amity’s hand, “Thank you Amity,” she walked over to the door, hesitating a moment before taking a small step inside, letting some tension roll off of her shoulders when nothing strange immediately happened to her. 

Luz ran over and grabbed her mom’s hand, pulling her down the hall as Amity and Eda followed. “I have so much to show you,” Luz pulled Camila into the living room, the woman stopping and looking around as Owlbert swooped down and landed back on her shoulder. The room was cluttered, piles of stuff towering in the corners and strange weapons leaning in the corners. She idly reached up to scratch Owlbert’s belly, the owl fluffing up as she spun in a circle trying to take everything in.

“If this is Owlbert,” a thought entered her head as she remembered last night while she scratched the small owl, Eda and Amity entering the room behind her, “Who is Hooty?” 

“You called, hoooot.” Camila caught movement out of the corner of her eye, the voice coming from right by her ear as she jumped, her arm lashing out as she made contact with something. 

“Ouch! Hoot!” Camila stared in shock at a strange tube with an owls face, the tube retreating back across the room, shrinking back into the door before speaking again. “Geez no one appreciates Hooty, I see how it is.” 

Camila looked in shock at Eda, noticing that Amity had a satisfied smile on her face as Eda laughed. “I told you that you would have to meet Hooty to know.” 

“Any other magical creatures that I should know about?” Camila said, slightly shaken from the scare. 

“Just King,” Luz said, before gasping and taking off up the stairs, “King! Where are you you little cutie!” Her voice trailed off as she ran up to the second floor. 

Camila turned to Amity, noticing that the girl was hanging back slightly, “Amity what is your type of magic? Can you do the same type of things as Eda or Luz?”

“Ah, well, not exactly.” Amity stepped forward with a shy smile, clutching a tan jar in her hands. “I use abomination magic, I could show you if you want?” Camila nodded, Amity smiling before rolling her shoulders to shake off the stress she had been feeling that morning. It would be good to cast again, give her abomination some time to stretch and spend time in a humanoid form 

Amity gently set down her pot, taking a deep breath before relaxing. A competitive glint entered her eyes as she drew a spell circle, “Abomination, rise!” she ordered, purple goo rising from the jar and swirling around itself, forming into a humanoid shape that posed behind Amity as she seemed to preen in pride. 

“Fascinating,” Camila wandered over, examining the shape, noting that the abomination had three eyes and seemed to track her movements with some intelligence. “So this is one of the types of magic, how many are there?” 

“There are nine,” Amity folded her arms behind her back as the abomination copied her, “potions, illusions, beast keeping, construction, plants, oracle, healing, bard, and abominations.” 

“I see,” and you learn all of this in school?” 

“Well not all of it,” Amity said, “You choose one track to join, or at least you did before Luz came along.” Camila raised her eyebrow in a silent question, Amity rushing to clarify, “Not because she did anything wrong, she just, got Principle Bump to agree to let her do all of the tracks of magic, and some others decided to do multiple tracks too. She is the first all track student at Hexside.” 

Footsteps from the stairs interrupted them as Luz burst back into the room, holding a sleeping King in her arms, the small demon curled around a small stuffed animal. “Oh,” Camila couldn’t resist a smile from breaking out on her face. “That is adorable.” 

“Yeah he is a handful,” Eda said before leaning down, “Hey Mr Wiggles we have company!” she loudly said into King’s ear, the demon flailing in Luz’s arms before looking around and letting out an indignant huff. 

“Who dares wake the king of demons from his nappy time!” he looked up and saw Luz, hugging her arm, “Luz! You’re back!” 

Luz laughed, kissing the top of King’s head as Amity stepped over, giving a small wave. They fell into conversation, Luz looking more natural here, in a room with two witches, a demon, and a humanoid magic creature than Camila had ever seen her. 

Camila was not oblivious, she knew that Luz had difficulties at school, mostly with making friends, and had tried to give her support in the ways she knew, but seeing her here, surrounded by people who obviously adored her… Camila felt her smile fade as the events of the morning started to crash against her mind. 

Eda caught a glimpse of Camila out of the corner of her eye, a far away stare on her face as she grimaced. “Hey kids why don’t the two of you go practice some magic and let Mr Wiggles here nap alright.” 

“Yes!” Luz bounced with excitement, “I haven’t had the chance to practice magic in so long. What about it Ami,” She stuck a hand on her hip, “How about a rematch.” 

“You’re on,” Amity grinned, Luz cheering and taking Amity’s wrist as she started to ramble to her about magic, the abomination sticking out its hand as Amity smiled and grabbed on, the three forming a small chain as they walked outside. 

“Here,” Eda walked into Camila’s sight, gently ushering her over towards the couch. “Must be a crazy morning huh?”

“This is quite a lot to take in,” Camila sat down on the couch, Eda dropping down next to her. “I thought that maybe there was some sort of trouble that Amity was in, or maybe some strange secret that Luz was keeping. But magic? That never crossed my mind.” She looked out of the window, watching as Luz and Amity cast spells, catching Luz’s laughter as she made a plant erupt in front of the ground in front of her. 

“She really loves this doesn’t she?” Camila looked at Eda, the witch sighing as laid back, leaning on the corner of the couch. 

“Yeah,” a fond smile crossed Eda’s face, “The first day she stayed here she showed up in front of my door in the morning in a bathrobe with a dusty traffic cone as a hat because she thought that was witch uniform.” She laughed, Camila smiling at the image. “She got so excited to learn magic, and wanted to study everything, she reminds me a lot of me as a kid.” The two fell into an easy silence, Eda watching as conflicting emotions seemed to battle on Camila’s face. 

“You know her and Amity originally didn’t get along?” Eda said, Camila blinking in surprise as Eda laughed. “Yeah, when I said I knew the Blights, they have a certain reputation here. That reputation was strangling the baby Blight, until Luz came along and helped break her out of that.” Eda looked back at the wanted poster and laughed, “She helped a lot of people here.” 

“Including you huh?” Camila smiled knowingly. 

Eda laughed, “yeah.” Eda tapped her staff as she thought, “me and King have been living here for a while, and Luz was the first person to crash in and try to change everything. The first day she came here she said that us weirdos have to stick together.” Eda looked at Camila, a soft smile on her face, “Luz is a good kid, and if she wants to learn magic then the rules be damned, I don’t care who says that humans can’t learn magic, I’m gonna make sure she does.” 

Camila looked out the window, watching Luz run from an abomination as Amity laughed, Luz with a huge smile on her face as she spun around, placing a piece of paper on the ground before it turned into a sheet of ice, the abomination spinning out of control into a bush as Amity and Luz ran over to check on it. 

“Hexside has a summer term you said?” Camila said, a smile growing on her face as she watched the two kids running around. 

“Yeah, plus of course Luz goes out and searches for magic in the Isles. Kid doesn’t need school to learn magic when she has me.” Eda stood up and moved over to her, looking at the soft smile on Camila’s face as she watched Luz. 

“She needs an education from the human realm, or whatever you call it.” Eda blinked in surprise at Camila’s words. “Even if either of you don’t think its important; Eda the Owl Lady might be able to avoid the cops, but Camila the human woman can’t.” Camila said in a teasing tone.

Eda laughed, “and this is why I told Luz not to go to school. Once the education system has you they don’t let go.” 

“Sounds like my student loans,” Camila muttered before turning to Eda. “Alright, If Luz accepts, she can come here to do magic on the weekends and for summer.” Eda perked up, the smile growing wider on her face. 

“Does that offer extend to visits? Not gonna lie that stuff this morning was good and this would get me a steady supply of human junk.” She gently elbowed Camila in the arm as she winked, the other woman rolling her eyes, a small smile giving away her amusement. 

“As long as there is no danger, and you and the kids agree to be honest from here on out with what is going on.” Camila looked around at the piles of human artifacts laying around the house, stacked next to what looked like various types of weapons. “And my house is not a storage shed; you bring human junk you don’t keep it at my house.” 

Camila had a concerned look on her face, her mouth caught somewhere in between a smile and a frown as Eda watched concern play over her face despite her teasing. Eda grinned, drawing a spell circle as she stuck her hand through it. “No harm will come to the kids as long as I am around to stop it. I swear an eternal oath.” 

Camila looked Eda in the eyes, her face serious before her lips twitched up slightly, confidently grabbing hold of Eda’s hand as the magic washed over their locked grip, Eda feeling the warmth of Camila’s hand as a prickling sensation went down her spine and pooled in her gut. 

Must be that curse, she mentally reminded herself to grab an extra elixir from the market as the warm feeling receded as Camila let go of her hand, her eyes still fixated on the shorter woman’s smile. “I’ll uh, go get them in,” Eda found herself stumbling over her words as she opened the door, her staff going up to knock Hooty on the beak as he opened his mouth before he could say anything. “Hey kids, get back in here.” She yelled. 

Both Luz and Amity turned, Amity dismissing her abomination as they came into the house, Camila gesturing towards the couch as Amity and Luz sat down, Luz grabbing the witch’s hand as they shifted in place. Eda stood next to Camila, watching the two before Camila glanced at her, raising her eyebrows and maintaining eye contact before Eda moved to sit next to the kids. 

“I have made my decision,” Camila said, Luz looking down as she chewed on her lip; the day had gone well right? No explosions, no emperors coven, but what if that wasn’t enough… 

Luz suddenly remembered Grom night, the image of her mother standing in the door frame burned into her mind, a small part of her wanting so desperately to run, to not hear what her mother had to say. Her breath picked up as she squeezed Amity’s hand harder, blinking as she was aware of someone trying to talk to her as she looked up. 

“Mija, Luz.” She met her mom’s eyes, not seeing any harshness to her look at all as she started to relax. “Luz de mi vida.” Camila gently reached out her hand, Luz grabbing on as Camila sat next to her, the corners of Luz’s mouth turning up in a smile. How long had it been since she had heard her mother call her that. 

“I’m not angry Luz,” Camila said, keeping her voice soft. “Even though I am not happy that you lied about camp, and about all of this,” she gestured around with her hand, “I understand.” 

“You do?” Luz felt the question slip from her lips. 

“Of course,” Camila laughed, “You found friends, and a world just like in those books that you read. If I had found that when I was your age I don’t think I could have told your abuela any of it.” Luz felt a weight that she hadn’t realized was there slip from her shoulders. 

“I’m not super happy with the fact that it took this long for you to tell me, or that you decided to stay in an unknown world instead of camp.” She sighed, “but you did tell me the truth, after a point.” 

“Lo siento mama,” Luz muttered, “I know I should have told you.” 

“You don’t have to tell me everything, but when it comes to magic and the Isles, you need to tell me what happens from now on.” 

“Yes mom,” The words took a moment to set in before Luz sat upright, a wide smile on her face. “Does that mean?” 

“Yes mija, you can keep learning magic, and we can see about you going to Hexside in the summer term.” Camila had barely finished talking before Luz grabbed her in a hug, muttering thanks against her shoulder as she rubbed Luz’s back. 

“And Amity,” The young witch looked up, “As I said you still have a place to stay, and if you want to practice magic as well I will support you however I can.” The girl blinked, looking at anywhere but Camila before responding. 

“Thank you Camila,” Amity said with a shy smile. 

“And Eda,” The witch pointed at herself in confusion, “yes you. You are welcome to come over, but if you wander into my kitchen in the middle of the night do not be surprised if you get hit with worse than a bag of snacks.” 

The witch erupted into laughter, an undignified snort causing Camila to smile, “Alright Cami you got yourself a deal.” 

The stress that Camila had been holding in for the last few days started to crack as she let out a content sigh. Yes there were still questions about how safe this realm was, and about why there was a framed wanted poster in the living room, but she felt closer to Luz now than she had since Luz was a small child; talking starry eyed about her dreams to be a witch as they made blanket forts in the living room. 

“Now,” Camila said, a wave of peace washing over her, “Tell me about what happened this summer mija.” She said as Luz’s eyes lit up, bouncing in her seat as she launched into a dramatic retelling of her summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and thus ends arc 1 of... checks notes... idk about 4 at the moment the notes keep getting longer every time I look.  
> the end of the semester is soon so the next chapter might be a bit late, but it will be out as soon as possible. 
> 
> thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed.   
> also team Camila is a good mom


	10. Errands, Trash, and human holidays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viney and the detention track search for the last bit of materials for their plans, while Camila adjusts to the fact that magic exists.   
> Luz introduces Amity to a human holiday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look at that, its an upload. well finals is over so now that I have been freed from the shackles of my university paper word count, here is a warm up chapter to get us back into it.   
> Hope you all enjoy and again, wild that you all enjoy this story I am grateful for every reader.

Puddles burst through a snow drift, letting out a cry of joy as snow burst up around his wings, Viney letting out an answering whoop of joy. “How are you doing back there boys?” she looked over her shoulder, Barcus leaning off the side of Puddles, the wind blowing through his fur as he smiled. 

“I hate you.” Jerbo leaned against Viney’s shoulder, giving a low groan as Puddles banked to the right, hurtling toward the ground. Viney laughed louder as Puddles stumbled to a stop, snow thrown up onto her back as she skidded to a stop, Viney throwing up her hands in excitement. 

She hopped off of Puddles, giving the griffin a hug as she ruffled her head, Puddles shaking her feathers and sending snow flying in all directions. Barcus hopped off, landing in the snow with a soft crunch as he pulled a crystal ball from his pouch and started to peer though it. Jerbo slid off Puddles, landing on the snow face first as he slowly got up, only to get a face full of snow as Viney shook the snow out of her hair, making him sputter as he grumbled to himself. 

“Why did we all have to come on this.” He grumbled, Viney giving him a pat on the shoulder as she pulled out the list of ingredients. 

“You were the one who found the stuff last time we did an run for materials,” Viney turned and knelt by Barcus, placing the list over the oracle sphere as Barcus tapped his paw on it, his eyes glowing purple before purple trails appeared on the ground, snaking outward as the lines disappeared into the woods. 

“Thanks Barcus,” Jerbo walked over, “This makes it so much easier.” He drew a spell circle in the air, an abomination rising from the snow as it lumbered off toward the woods, Jerbo quickly raising two more small abominations from the snow that took off after the first one. 

Puddles followed the magical lines, her nose to the ground as she meandered around the clearing, bumping into Viney and giving a startled coo. Viney ruffled her feathers, watching as Jerbo’s abominations carried plants back to the clearing, piling them up as Viney started to go through them, separating out the components as Jerbo and Barcus maintained their spells.

The three worked in a comfortable silence, sorting through the piles of plants until Jerbo dismissed his abominations, shaking out his arms as Barcus blinked, the purple lines fading as the three started looking at the gathered plants and the list, crossing items off as they loaded the materials into the satchels on Puddles side. 

“Why are you so determined to help Emira?” Jerbo asked, stripping some thorn berry from a branch, “I mean I’m not saying not to help, but like, how did that even start?” 

Viney shuffled, almost loosing a hold of the stinging root that she was carefully angling away from her, giving a nervous laugh. “I uh, well you know she just needed help.” Barcus and Jerbo exchanged a glance, Jerbo raising an eyebrow as Barcus let out a soft bark. 

“Barcus says your aura-” 

“I know what my aura says,” Viney interrupted, her face flushed as she sighed and leaned against Puddles. “Sorry I just,” she floundered with her hands as Jerbo leaned next to her. 

“How did you even meet her?” Jerbo asked softly, Viney letting out a small laugh. 

“She fell into the beast keeping stables.” She giggled, “She was trying to get into one of the teachers offices and slipped, fell right on a pile of griffin feed and spooked puddles.” Jerbo let out a short laugh at the image. 

“I didn’t know what to think at first, you know the Blight twins have a kind of,” Viney paused for a moment as she chewed on her lip in thought, “Reputation for causing trouble.”

“I mean we also cause trouble,” Jerbo laughed as Viney elbowed him gently. 

“You know what I mean,” Viney rolled her eyes, “We wanted to study multiple tracks, Emira and Edric just,” she paused and sighed, “I just didn’t know what to think of them at first.” Jerbo nodded as Barcus walked over and patted Viney’s knee. 

“She just kept hanging around, and I don’t know, she is nicer than I thought she was going to be.” Viney smiled sadly, “She took Amity leaving hard, though at first we argued about it.” She sighed, “I don’t think she really understood what was so wrong about the conformitorium, or even detention track, until she heard about it.” Barcus and Jerbo flinched slightly, the three of them falling into a somber silence. 

“But she’s cool now?” Jerbo said, watching Viney as she blushed slightly and nodded. 

“Yeah she gets it,” she laughed, “I mean she is doing this with us, and even if she wasn’t…” She trailed off as she ran her fingers through Puddles feathers. “That tracking shit scares me.” 

Jerbo rubbed his arm as he nodded, “yeah, I mean, Bump was cool with us doing two tracks but what happens when we graduate.” He tapped his foot as Viney pat him on the shoulder. “I mean, they will make us choose eventually right?”

The silence that followed was nervous, Viney letting out a sigh before a grin crept its way across her face, “It’s a good thing that we are figuring out a way to fix that then huh?” Jerbo smiled as Barcus let out a short celebratory bark, Viney pushing off of Puddles as she turned to them. “You know there are more people that want to do double track?” Barcus nodded as Jerbo shook his head in confusion. 

“A few of the other students asked me about it,” Viney said, Barcus letting out a few barks, “Barcus too, he says a lot of the oracle track really wants to see how the mixing magic works.” 

“Huh,” Jerbo nodded, the smile widening on his face, “We started something huh? First Luz and us multi-tracking, then the rest of the school.” The three laughed as Viney pushed herself off from Puddles, giving the griffin an appreciative pat. 

“Means we have a lot of work to do,” she turned to them, “So no more lazing around lets get working, Emira needs our help.” She turned and walked over to the pile of plants in front of her, pausing for a moment before turning back around and walking over to Jerbo, taking the list from his hands, leveling them with a glare, “You saw nothing.” She flushed as the two laughed, grumbling to herself about cute green hair witches as she got back to the work in front of her.

\--

Camila shivered as a cold wind whipped down the street, her sweater offering less protection from the fall chill than she had thought as she opened the door. She hung her keys on the peg by the door as she rubbed her forehead with three fingers, feeling a headache come on as she grumbled to herself softly. Another coffee would not hurt to keep her awake long enough to finish making dinner and preparing for Luz’s planned weekend trip to the Boiling Isles. 

She walked through the kitchen, giving a brief greeting to King, the small demon sitting on the counter swinging his feet as he watched something on a phone, as she walked over to the coffee pot and flipped the switch. She whirled around, her brain catching up to what she saw as she started at King, the tiny Demon reaching to grab more chips, the bag comically large compared to his size as he leaned sideways trying to fish out the last of the chips from the bottom of the bag. 

“Hello?” Camila said, taking in the sight of the small demon currently sitting on her kitchen counter, the phone next to him playing cheery music. The portal occupied the other doorway, slightly cracked open as soft noises drifted through. 

“You!” King looked up, pointing a claw covered in chip dust at Camila, “Minion! Help me get the last of these chips from this horrible container.” He said as he posed his other hand on his hip and leaped to his feet. A momentary silence fell over the kitchen before King tilted his head, “Please?” 

“Sure?” Camila was not intending for her response to come out more like a question as she grabbed a few paper towels and shook the rest of the bag of chips onto them, King giving a noise of glee before he dug into the small pile, pulling the phone onto his lap. The low noise from the video playing on the phone and the slow drip of the coffee machine were the only thing heard in the kitchen as Camila floundered for something to say. 

“How,” Camila’s eyes darted over to the portal door, “er, why are you here?” 

“Waiting,” King said, “and plotting, lots of plotting.” He stuffed another few chips in his mouth as he continued to focus on the phone. Camila walked over and hopped up next to him on the counter, looking over his shoulder as she saw the video playing on the phone, a live feed of a group of kittens stumbling around a small pen. 

“What do kittens have to do with plotting?” Camila asked, a small grin creeping onto her face. “Is this a cute plot?” 

“Cute?” King said, waving a hand around over his head empathetically, “There is nothing cute here, these are trained killers, future minions of my army of darkness!” His voice got louder as he spoke, a note of pride entering his voice. On the screen a small kitten batted away at a ball of yarn. “See! Vicious creatures, full of rage.” 

As he said that the kitten tripped over the yarn and bowled over as the yarn tangled around their feet, starting to mew helplessly. “Absolutely terrifying,” Camila chuckled, “and what are your plans for this grand army?” 

“World domination,” King huffed, crossing his arms.

“Quite ambitious,” Camila hopped off of the counter, walking over to pour herself a cup of coffee as she took a sip, sighing in relief, “What were you waiting on while you plotted away?” 

“Oh Eda told me to wait here and keep an eye on the door, make sure that nothing broke in from the Isles.” A loud crash came from the other side of the portal door, a screech making Camila blink before knocking back her coffee as she muttered to herself. 

“Well thank you King,” Camila patted him on the head, King waving his hands as he tried to bat away Camila’s hands as he made a small disgruntled noise. “Que lindo,” she murmured, smiling to herself. 

“Luz always says that,” King pouted, “what-” King was cut off by a small tapping at the front door, the two of them peering out of the kitchen as Camila walked back over to the front door, peering through the small window and frowning as she saw no one there. She turned away as another small knocking came at the door. 

Turning back around Camila opened the door, a small noise making her look down. Owlbert stood on the front porch, a large bag next to him as he gave a small hoot in greeting. “Hello,” Camila said, moving to the side as Owlbert grabbed the bag, dragging it into the house despite it being a few times his size. Camila looked out the door, shaking her head as she closed it and made her way back to the kitchen. Portals, small owls and demons, Luz casting magic; she sighed to herself as she leaned on the entryway to the kitchen, still trying to absorb the rapid changes to daily life. 

“Loot!” King jumped off the counter and scrambled over to the bag, Owlbert flying over to Camila’s shoulder. King dived into the bag, his head fully inside as he rummaged through, pulling out a car engine as he held it above his head, teetering from holding it up. “Nah,” He tossed it backwards, the engine pushing open the portal as it crashed into the hallway, King diving back in. 

“Hey!” Eda’s voice came though the door, the witch poking her head through, a pair of tinted goggles on her face, her hair stained with soot. “Watch where you are throwing things,” she ducked to avoid a book that sailed over her head.

“Maybe if you weren’t so tall,” King said, pulling out an extendable grabber from the bag as he held it up, pulling on the handle as the pincers closed, King’s eyes lit up as he held it triumphantly above his head. “My power only grows stronger, and taller!” King yelled in victory as he ran back through the portal, ducking around Eda and cackling madly to himself as Eda groaned. 

“I am gonna have to rearrange everything on the shelves, great.” Eda deadpanned, Camila laughing as Eda looked up, noticing Camila leaning in the other doorway. “Hey Cami,” Eda leaned against the portal opening, flipping up her goggles, “didn’t think I would see you here.” 

“This is my house, I would hope that you wouldn’t find anyone else here.” Camila’s lips turned upwards in a small grin, Eda chuckling. “I would hope that next time you would let me know when you need to use my house as a magical pit stop.” She smiled, Eda rubbing the back of her neck as she chuckled. 

“Deal,” She walked over to the bag of loot and rummaged around in it, examining a few items as she pulled them out. “You want to get in on the loot?” She pulled out a pair of bronze cloths hangers and looped them around her ears, pushing her hair up as she posed, “At this rate I am gonna get my hands on all the good stuff.” 

A laugh bubbled up from Camila’s chest as she let out a snort of laughter, a wide grin on her face as she watched Eda pose with her improvised earrings. Eda felt her stomach flip at the sound, her eyes following Camila’s hands as she pushed up her sleeves, trying to swallow around the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. 

She tracked Camila as she walked over to the bag, kneeling by it and starting to look through it before she looked up at Eda, “what was it you said,” She grinned as she quirked an eyebrow up, “Don’t you want to get in on all the loot?” Camila laughed softly as she dug back into the bag, pulling out a handful of wallets as she turned to look at Owlbert. 

“Really?” Owlbert shuffled on her shoulder, the small owl seeming almost guilty under the woman’s stare. Camila rolled her eyes as she scratched his stomach, “No more wallets Owlbert, people need these okay?” 

Eda felt a smile creep onto her face at the scene in front of her, her stomach uncomfortably warm as she inwardly cursed, ‘now was not the time for that to happen’ she told herself, trying to force the start of a blush from her face. She cleared her throat, dropping to the ground next to Camila, one leg propping up her arm as Owlbert hopped onto her outstretched hand, “But if they have a suit on, they are fair game.” Eda winked at Camila, feeling her lips quirk up as the human woman laughed. 

“I, uh,” Eda felt herself grow flustered as she coughed again, “Actually asked Owlbert if he could pick up something that I heard Luz talking about.” She rummaged around in the bag, pulling out a pair of books as she grinned at Owlbert. “Good job you rascal,” Owlbert preened in pride at her words, Camila shifting over to look at what Eda was holding.

Her eyes widened as her smile softened, seeing Eda holding two copies of The Good Witch Azura 6. “That isn’t even out to the stores yet,” Camila laughed to herself, “I know because Luz circled the release date on the calendar. How did you get these?” 

“I know people,” Eda grinned, Owlbert hooting as she rolled her eyes fondly, “You don’t know people you just know how to not get caught.”

Camila took the books as Eda and Owlbert continued to argue, the one side of the conversation that she could understand making her grin. She had struggled the last few days on what to think about Eda; the witch genuinely cared about Luz, and was willing to do a lot just to try to build up trust. Luz had admitted how dangerous some of the things about the Isles were, and Eda had been quick to try to reassure her. Camila let out a laugh, remembering how Eda seemed so proud about her reassurances about how Hexside only really experienced a large disaster every other week, apparently down from when she was in school. 

Eda and Owlbert turned to look at her, the laugh breaking them out from their argument. Camila pulled herself up, placing the books on the counter as she offered a hand to help Eda up. “Do you want to stay for dinner?” Eda blinked owlishly up at her, Camila letting out a small laugh as she thought of the pun. “The girls would probably love to get their gifts from you, and I am sure King would love to tell Luz all about his nefarious plans.” 

“Was he plotting again? Was it the one about world domination and kittens?” Eda took the help up, almost reluctant to let go as the warmth of Camila’s hand slipped away, “he has been on that kick for a while lately, I keep telling him that it won’t work but he is stubborn.” 

“Oh I don’t know,” Camila turned and started to grab ingredients, throwing a quick teasing smile over her shoulder. “I think he can do it, he seems to have learned from the best when it comes to being a criminal after all.”

Eda’s heart skipped a beat, the sound of Camila laughing freezing her in place as she flushed a deep red. ‘Ah shit’, she thought, turning her face and coughing to hide the flush on her cheeks, ‘that was how it was going to be huh.’ 

\--

Luz tapped Amity’s arm with her pencil, pointing up at the bell as Amity nodded, putting her head down right before the harsh bell rang out, Luz able to see Amity flinch slightly at the harsh noise. 

Pulling her head up Amity gave Luz a soft smile, the two of them starting to pack up their bags. Human school was vastly different from Hexside, with the rapid changing between subjects and the crowded hallways that left Amity’s mind reeling. The only saving grace was Luz, who was in almost all of her classes. 

The human in question grabbed her forearm, pulling her through the halls, “Come on Ami, we have to get a good spot.” Amity grinned at Luz’s enthusiasm, the two of them moving outside for lunch as Luz claimed a nice spot under a tree for the two of them. “Look at what I found,” Luz held up a poster before Amity had even sat down, the witch closely reading it before turning to Luz with a confused look. 

“What is Halloween?” Amity asked. The flyer was advertising a Halloween party, something that Luz seemed excited about, as Amity watched her face fall with her question. 

“I should have checked to see if you had that in the Isles,” Luz fiddled with the paper, crumpling the edges. “Its a holiday where you dress up as your favorite character and get candy.” Luz’s eyes sparkled as she explained it, Amity felt her lips twitch upwards in a smile at the sight. “It’s my favorite holiday, we should bring everyone over for it, we can even get matching costumes!” 

Amity choked on her own breath as she flushed bright red, “M-Matching costumes? Like cute outfits? Matching?” she stammered out, Luz smiling at her. 

“Yeah,” Luz gasped as her hands flew to her cheek, “We can be Azura and Hecate.” Her fingers tapped against her cheeks as her grin spread almost impossibly wide, “You can be Azura!” 

“M-me” Amity pointed to herself before she smiled shyly, “no no you are Azura, I mean, Luzura.” She inwardly congratulated herself as Luz smiled, only barely catching that her lips twitched downward slightly.

“But you have the right hair for it.” Luz said, Amity feeling her mouth go dry, letting out a small fake chuckle, cringing at how fake it sounded. An awkward silence fell over the two, Amity idly tapping at her books as Luz pulled grass up and rubbed it in between her fingers. 

“You-”

“I-”

The two spoke at once, giggling as they managed to interrupt each other, Amity motioning for Luz to go first. “I uh,” Luz started, looking down as she ran her thumb over an Azura key chain attached to her bag. “I still feel, is it bad that I don’t want to be here.” Luz said quietly, Amity scooting over to hear her better. 

“I mean I am so happy that mom is going to allow me to keep learning magic,” Luz took out her notebook and drew a quick spell circle, tapping it as the paper crumbled to ash in her book, Luz letting out a sigh. “I just, wish that I could still do magic, to actually be like Azura.” Amity placed a hand on her knee, smiling softly at her. 

“I don’t think its wrong,” Amity gently said, “you love magic, and,” Amity looked around before leaning in conspiratorially, “The human realm isn’t that great.” Luz laughed, a wide grin on her face as Amity blushed softly. 

“Yeah, the Isles feels more like home than here ever did,” Luz stared off, giving a small sigh. They fell into another short silence before Amity softly cleared her throat. 

“My uh,” She looked away as Luz turned to her, tapping her knee rapidly. “My mother made me dye my hair.” Amity felt her fingers pick at the edge of her skirt, looking up as Luz softly grabbed her hand, rubbing a thumb over her hand as Amity flushed and buried her head in her free hand. Her heart pounded against her chest, trying to calm her breathing as she waited for Luz to respond. 

“Do you want to have your old hair color?” Luz asked, Amity nodding within her hands. Luz lit up, Amity wondering if she could go blind from looking at someone, “Baby Amity from Willow’s memories was so cute!” Amity sputtered, the noise muffled by her hand over her face, as her ears started to twitch wildly. Luz smiled as she saw Amity’s ears move beneath her hair. She had started to learn that Amity did that when she was happy; like reading Azura, or drawing, or if she had a particularly good meal, Luz blinked as she halted mid thought. 

‘Why did she know so much about how Amity acted when she was happy?’ she asked herself, remembering how Amity would get a small smile, and tuck her hair behind her ears. She shook herself out of her thoughts as she tried to restart the conversation. 

“Well,” she cleared her throat, “You could go as Hecate,” Amity looked up at her, “There is temporary dye, or we can ask Gus, he probably knows how to do a good illusion.” 

“I would like that,” Amity smiled softly, Luz feeling her stomach flip as she swallowed a lump in her throat. “So you will go as Azura?” Amity asked, Luz quirking her lips up. 

“Sure,” she smiled at Amity. She was willing to do that if she could help Amity feel at all better about herself. 

Amity stared at Luz, her mind turning as she bit her lip in concentration. How could she get Luz to see that she was still a hero, at least to her.

Luz’s phone buzzed, shaking both of them out of their thoughts as Luz looked at it and opened the message gasping, turning the screen to Amity, the witch’s eyes lighting up as she saw the picture on the screen. Eda was holding two copies of the next Good Witch Azura book in one hand and waving a wooden spatula at a steaming pot with the other, the picture clearly candid as the two of them fed on each other’s excitement, Luz’s leg bouncing as Amity’s hand flapped against her leg. 

“Oh my gosh this is so exciting!” Luz started to ramble, “How did she get those so early? I don’t care this is fantastic! We get to read it early, and get a head start on planning out new fic!” she gasped again, “Wait no I would be spoiling myself, and is that even fair?” Luz argued with herself on the morality of Eda’s gift as Amity tilted her head in thought, a smile crossing her face as she watched Luz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and for all the support this fic has received. Thanks for all your patience, and I am excited to get back to writing out chapters for this fic.   
> this is just a warm up, will probably come back and edit it later, but needed to get back in the flow.   
> hope you all enjoyed, and see you next time for some fun boiling isles adventures, and to get the answer to whether the tag of coffee addiction is for the characters or the author.


	11. potions and new problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz finally gets the chance to practice magic again, but with her mind elsewhere and the memories of school on her mind how will it turn out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're back in business and back on track! I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will say I had no idea where it was going to go when I started it and am still surprised where my brain took the characters. see you all next week!!
> 
> Oh also chapter contains a depiction of a panic attack I have it bracketed for you all, it's not long and I promise I will stop putting my characters through this soon.

Luz idly doodled on her notes, multicolored smoke swirling around her head as the sound of Eda talking filtered through her ears as background noise. Her notes on the ingredients of each potion that Eda was making had quickly turned into small doodles. 

“Boring you already kid?” Eda leaned over her shoulder, Luz startling before she gave a sheepish smile. 

“Sorry Eda,” she turned back to her notes, blushing as she saw a doodle of Amity as Hecate; fighting off monsters in between instructions on how to brew boil b’ gone. 

“Everything alright kid? Need to take a bit of a break?” Eda narrowed her eyes in concern, resting a hand on Luz’s shoulder. 

“Nope!” Luz tapped her feet as she yelled, shrinking her shoulders in on herself, “I got this,” she smiled confidently, Eda shrugging before turning back to her potion. Luz’s smile fell when Eda turned away, squeezing her eyes shut as she internally kicked herself. Why couldn’t she focus, this was why she wanted to practice potions with Eda in the first place. 

Focusing on school was always something that Luz had a hard time doing, often times finding herself making plans for new fan-fictions or dreaming about magic. Magic was right in front of her now, so why was it so hard to focus on when the proper time to add the sulfur mites was. She felt her eyes pulled from the notes in front of her and to the various weapons and artifacts hanging from the wall. 

The various colored smoke drifted in front of Eda’s hair, Luz’s lips quirking up as it made her look like she had dyed a rainbow on her wild mane. Her thoughts immediately turned to Amity, the pained look on her face as she admitted that her parents made her dye her hair. She was so embarrassed by it too, even Luz’s attempts at comfort made her get nervous. 

There had to be some way to help Amity, Luz turned ideas over in her head as she tried to keep her mind on track. Why did helping Amity seem to consume so much of her thoughts lately? It must be because she felt bad, Luz decided, idly chewing on the end of her pencil. Yeah, Amity was stuck in the human world, away from everything that she was used to, and from Hexside. And her crush, a small part of her brain told her, Luz shaking her head to clear that thought from her mind. 

She caught the tail end of Eda explaining how long to to keep the potion over the heat for, scribbling a quick estimate of what Eda said as she grumbled to herself trying to keep on track. Her gut flipped as she was reminded of human school, her head sinking down slightly. 

Eda watched as Luz’s notes slowed and her head slipped down wards, a pensive look on her face. “Hey kid,” Luz sat up at her words, Eda feeling her heart clench as Luz’s expression briefly looked panicked, “want to help me mix this batch up?” A look of relief crossed Luz’s face as she hopped up to help Eda with the potion. 

“Here toss this in,” Eda handed over a small bag of sulfur mites, Luz excitedly tossing it into the cauldron, stumbling backwards as a plume of yellow smoke erupted from it accompanied by a high pitched screaming noise. “And that is why we add this,” Eda swirled a small bottle of demon spit in her hands, “mites hate this stuff, keeps them from erupting in the mixture somehow.” 

“Somehow?” Luz tilted her head in confusion, Eda letting out a loud laugh. 

“Me and King got so frustrated that it kept exploding on us that King spit in into the cauldron before tossing this in, and what do you know? Guess it explains why he never has these things.” Eda winked as Luz let out a small laugh. 

“So an accident,” Luz teased, her smile wide and genuine as Eda felt herself relax. 

“Ha,” Eda patted Luz on the back as she hopped up onto the table, sitting down next to the cauldron as she idly stirred it. “No such thing as accidental greatness kiddo, I just listen to the Isles remember?” Luz giggled as she nodded. Eda levitated the potion out of the cauldron, tossing it out of the window as they both winced at the sharp hissing noise as the potion met the ground, looking at each other. “Okay so I forgot that it might be slightly acidic.” 

“OHHHH what’s this! Someone left me a treat!” Hooty’s voice drifted through the window, Eda’s eyes rolling before she let out a sigh, walking over to the window and climbing out of it. 

“How often do I have to tell you not to drink strange liquids off the ground!” Eda yelled as Luz laughed to herself. She turned back to the cauldron, squinting at her notes as she read the ingredients on the table. 

“Okay, you can do this Luz.” She muttered to herself, biting her lip as she filled the cauldron with water. “Goat bile,” She peered into the bottle, wrinkling her nose at it as she poured it in. “Rosebay, salt,” Luz muttered the ingredients as she tossed them in, pausing as she waited for a reaction. The cauldron bubbled for a moment before sending up a plume of bright green smoke, Luz hurriedly slapping a ice glyph on it as the liquid tried to bubble over, freezing the whole thing solid as she pulled over another cauldron. 

She grumbled to herself, looking over the ingredients and her scribbled notes as she tried to put them in the right order. She chewed on her lip as she got to the smudged part of her notes, slowly sorting out the different ingredients. She lined them up, tapping her pencil as she moved aside the ones that she knew went in first. She moved the mites and the spit to the end, left with two small bottles sitting in front of her. She added the ingredients slowly, pausing to choose which of the ingredients to add between the two unknowns, eventually sprinkling in some light blue crystals. She quickly added the rest as she took the satchel of sulfur mites as added them. 

As she tossed in the mites she held her breath, letting out a whoop as the potion turned a light brown, letting off a bright yellow stream of smoke, the potion looking exactly like the one that Eda had sitting out. The sound of clapping made her turn around, Eda sitting in the window sill smiling at her. “Good job kiddo.” Luz smiled in pride, “Seems I just needed to let you get in there and try it yourself.” 

Luz’s smile wavered as Eda’s eyebrows rose, “Hey, Luz what’s wrong, stunned by my teaching skills? Or lack of huh?” Eda said jokingly, walking over to Luz and pulling her into a side arm hug. Luz rubbed the heel of her foot into the floor, her face pensive. 

“I wasn’t really paying attention earlier.” Luz said, tapping her fingers against her leg. 

“Pfft,” Eda waved her hand in front of her, “You saw my school record kiddo, not paying attention is my middle name.” She threw her arms out, “and look at me, still the strongest witch in the Isles eh?” 

“Yeah,” Luz’s lips quirked up slightly, “I guess I was just wondering why I couldn’t get it when I was listening.” She gave a self deprecating laugh, “like with the rest of school.” She muttered, Eda’s ears twitching as she picked up the muttering. 

“Who needs school,” She said, “witches like us-” she stopped as she saw Luz’s face fall. Letting out a sigh as she leaned on the counter next to Luz she ran a hand through her hair, tossing away a bone that got tangled in her fingers. “You’re talking about human school huh?” Luz nodded as Eda cast her eyes over to her notebook, looking at the half scribbled notes and drawings. 

“Did I ever tell you why I chose potions in the end?” Luz looked up, a glimmer re-entering her eyes as Eda chuckled. “Sure some of it was Lily, but I wanted to do it all. It’s why Belos still can’t get this wild witch to commit.” She let out a snort at her rhyme. 

“It was because potions came easily to me.” She winked as she drew a spell circle, the finished potion floating out and into several prepared bottles. “I noticed things, like how if you used a griffin’s spiders in a truth potion you could get people to talk about their greatest fears, or if you let a headache potions brew for just a bit too long you get a cure for morning sickness.” She laughed as she spun a potion in the air, tossing it to Luz as she caught it, the liquid inside swirling around. 

“Like I told you kiddo, you listen to the Isles, you notice things that no one is going to figure out.” Eda dramatically cast a light spell on the potion, making Luz giggle. “Find your own patterns and don’t let anyone try to tell you that there is a right way to figure it out.” 

Luz smiled as she turned to the potion, her eyes narrowing as she tilted her head, the particulates in the potion swirling around as it formed what looked like… Luz gasped, pulling over her notebook as she drew the glyph that she saw floating in the potion bottle, Eda looking over her shoulder with a large grin. “Eda look!” She turned to the witch with a large grin.

“That’s my girl!” Eda said, Luz holding her breath as she slapped the glyph on her arm, her expression falling as nothing happened. Eda laughed, Luz shooting her a look, before Eda held up a hand. “Kid, I would hope nothing happened did you forget that this was boil b’ gone.” 

“Ah, right.” Luz flushed in embarrassment before her eyes lit up again, the memory of Amity talking about her hair flashing in her head, “Oh! Do you have any illusion potions?” 

Eda smirked as she waved her hands, three small bottles appearing in between her fingers, “That is baby’s first potion kiddo, I got so many I don’t know what to do with them.” Her grin widened at Luz’s excited expression, Eda levitating over a long table with several beakers on it, Luz only getting more excited as Eda caused ingredients to fly in circles around them as Luz stared up in wonderment, a warm feeling filling Eda’s chest as she watched her kid’s expression light up. 

“Now, lets learn some potions in our own ways huh?” Eda said as Luz let out a cheer, the two tossing ingredients back and forth as Eda walked Luz through what to add, the warm maternal feeling only growing stronger in her chest as the smile on her face refused to leave.

—

The spread out papers seemed to taunt Amity, her grip on her pencil tightening as grit her teeth. The her heel tapped against the floor, one hand tapping out a rhythmic patter on the dining room table. Her eyes darted towards her sketchbook, wanting to take a break from her school work to draw, before she shook her head, trying to snap herself back into focus. She turned back to her note cards, mumbling to herself as she felt a slight burning behind her eyes. 

She mumbled as she wrote out note cards, repeating the information to herself as she scribbled it down. Human school was so different from Hexside, and the differences were starting to creep up on her. Science and math came easy to her, it reminded her of mixing abomination materials; the numbers easy to grasp. Human history however, was a whole different matter, some of the events that were referenced made absolutely no sense to her, often having to sheepishly ask Luz to use her laptop in order to look something up. 

It was only a bit of extra effort, she chided herself, just like the extra work she did in Abominations, she would easily be able to catch up. She leaned back with a sigh, her eyes pulled toward the slightly open portal door in the kitchen. She had reluctantly stayed behind when Luz went to go practice magic, and now was regretting not going along.

“A bit distracted?” Camila’s voice made her jump, her hand jerking in surprise as her pencil rolled off of the table, Camila catching it deftly. She moved a chair next to Amity as she sat down, placing the pencil back onto the table. Amity gave a small nervous smile as she mumbled a greeting, Camila looking at the work spread in front of the young witch. 

“It must be difficult,” Camila smiled gently at Amity, trying to calm her down, “Being in a strange place and having to struggle with the work.” 

“I’m not struggling,” Amity let out a nervous laugh, fingers tapping against the table, “why would I be struggling.” She bit her lip to stop the words flowing out of her mouth.

“Of course, Luz always talked about how you were the best student at Hexside,” Camila caught the small blush that crossed Amity’s cheeks before her face fell, Camila now able to see the way the witch’s ears tilted down as her expression wilted. “What’s wrong Amity?” 

“It’s just,” Amity fiddled with her pencil, picking it up and twirling it between her fingers, “It’s different here. I am used to Hexside, and human school is new. There are new rules and everything is just so,” she floundered for a moment before putting her head down on the table with a low groan. 

Camila smiled gently, letting out a small chuckle as Amity turned her head, resting the side of her head against the table. “Change can be a scary thing.” Amity nodded, Camila sorting through her papers that were out on the desk before pausing and looking at Amity. “You know, now that I think of it, you don’t have to continue to go to school, if there was a way that we could get your homework from-” 

— depiction of panic attack ahead— 

Amity sat paralyzed as the words lost coherency in her mind, Camila’s words turning to white noise as tried to keep her breath steady. Blights went to school, they didn’t need help, Blight’s were supposed to be top of the class, so why are you struggling this early on Amity. Your siblings are naturals at this, why can’t you be more like them. Her mother’s words echoed in her mind, the cold way that her mother said her name looping in her mind. 

“Amity, Amity, Mija?” Amity blinked, her mother didn’t call her that… she blinked as the blurriness faded, looking into Camila’s worried eyes as the woman gave her a soft smile. “Just breathe okay, focus on my voice, and when you can tell me something you can see.” 

Taking a deep breath in Amity took in the smells of the Noceda’s kitchen, her nose wrinkling as she smelled the spices that Camila used in last night’s dinner. She mumbled out an answer, not hearing her own words as Camila let out a gentle laugh. 

“What else mija,” Amity’s lips quirked up at the phrase, her brain struggling to put itself back in order. “What about something you feel?” 

“Itchy.” Amity muttered, Camila nodding as Amity felt the texture of her clothing, rubbing her shirt between her fingers. She blushed as she looked down ward, muttering out an apology as Camila smiled sadly. 

“Amity you don’t have to apologize.” Amity felt a small smile stretch across her face as she relaxed. “Does this happen often?” at Camila’s words Amity bit her lip before nodding. 

— depiction over — 

“Sometimes.” Amity muttered, picking at the hem of her shirt as a few strands unraveled, making her frown slightly as she continued to pick at it. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Camila asked, Amity blinking in confusion. 

“Um, I guess?” she sat still as an uneasy silence fell over the two of them, Amity searching for what to say. 

“It seemed to be something with school.” Camila gently pressured Amity, the witch’s lips twitching.

“I want to stay in human school,” Amity said, squeezing her eyes shut. 

“Of course,” Camila answered immediately, Amity looking up in confusion. “I won’t hold you back from doing the things that you want to do.” 

“Oh.” Amity fidgeted in her seat, Camila trying to keep a frown from appearing on her face as at the shock in Amity’s voice. 

“Why was the idea of school being taken away painful for you dear?” Camila asked. “If you feel comfortable sharing,” she quickly added. 

Amity looked around, unable to meet Camila’s eyes as her eyes locked onto a spot on the wall behind her head. “School,” she struggled to find the words for a moment, “It’s structured, there are rules and those rules make sense.” Her words started to flow better as she relaxed. “I enjoy it, and it gives me places to do things I enjoy.” 

“Like Abominations?” Camila asked, Amity’s eyes twitching slightly. 

“Somewhat,” she grumbled, “Abominations is the most prestigious track, befitting a Blight.” She recited, the words automatically flowing out of her mouth. “I enjoy it however,” she quickly reassured Camila. 

“You were quite good at it, I was surprised at how life like your abomination was.” Amity preened slightly, her smile tilting upwards before it fell, her mind going back to her mother’s words. 

“It took me a long time to get it.” She said, Camila looking at her in confusion. “My siblings are prodigies, some of the best in the Illusion track. They got to choose what they could do.” She tried to force the bitterness from her voice. 

“You know it was rough for me too.” Camila patted Amity’s hand gently, “too many late hours in the library.” Amity perked up at that, Camila filing that away for later. “If you could pick, what would you choose?” 

“What would I choose?” amity repeated the question blankly. “I, I don’t know?” she said, blinking in confusion as she started to chew on her lip. 

“That question can wait dear, but for now,” Camila smiled as she stood up, offering her hand to Amity, “I think it is about time you take a break and join Luz in magic lessons.” Camila paused muttering to herself “well those are words I didn’t think I would say.”

“What?” Amity tilted her head, taking Camila’s help up. Camila waved the question off as they walked toward the door, pausing as they heard a crash from inside, Camila raising her eyebrows. 

Pushing the door open the two of them were greeted with the sight of the Owl House’s living room, now transformed into what seemed to be a laboratory. A long bench in the center of the room held all manner of beakers and even some spare pots from the kitchen. Plumes of smoke came from the various potions, King running down the line with a bundle of ingredients. 

“Ohhh throw those worm things into that one,” Luz’s voice came from the in front of the couch. 

“Nice call!” Eda’s voice called out to, King throwing a few dried worms into a pot as it erupted in pink smoke, joining the multiple colors that swirled around the ceiling. “Anything there kiddo?” 

“No but it went better than last time.” Luz said proudly. Camila and Amity entered the room, a grin creeping across Camila’s face as she saw Luz and Eda, both of them facing the table and holding handstands. Owlbert was behind Luz, propping her up they both were staring at the array of potions. 

“I didn’t know that learning magic required so much upper body strength.” Camila said, Luz turning to face her as she tumbled over, springing back up. 

“Mom!” She ran over, her eyes lighting up as she waved a small stack of papers. “We figured out more spells! Looking at everything from a different angle.” Luz noticed Amity off to the side, launching into a hug as she grinned. “Amity! I have to show you this!” 

Eda stretched as she pulled herself back upright, popping her joints as she wandered over. “Hey kiddo, decided to join us?” Amity blushed in Luz’s grip, grumbling to herself. 

“Amity look at this.” Luz pulled a piece of paper from the pile, placing it on the side of her own face before she tapped it, a brief flash of light fading to reveal Luz with a large grin on her face. 

“What was supposed to-” Amity’s question was cut off as she noticed the fact that Luz now had two pointed ears slightly twitching on the side of her head. 

“Isn’t it great! I found a glyph that allows you to do small illusions.” Amity flushed as Luz leaned in, “they look so real, and you can even touch them too.” 

“Wh- hu-” Amity sputtered, Eda rolling her eyes fondly as she came over and put a hand on Luz shoulder. 

“Alright kiddo let the poor girl breath,” She threw a wink at Camila, “sorry for the mess Cami you caught us at an interesting time.” 

“Is this chaos how you learn magic,” Luz nodding as she pulled Camila over to the table, pushing a flask into her hands. 

“Yup, just focus on this and like, see the magic.” She gave a thumbs up at Camila and then at Eda, Camila staring confusedly at the potion as Eda rolled her eyes fondly. 

“I don’t think that this is going to work mija,” Camila turned the potion around in her hands, the aquamarine liquid gently swirling around inside of it.

“Wait that one isn’t done yet,” King called out, tossing a small root up and into the beaker, the potion turning a bright yellow before letting out a huge cloud of smoke, Camila coughing as it hit her in the face. 

“What in the world,” Camila waved her hands in front of her eyes, her vision clouded by the smoke that adhered to her glasses, only able to see out of several small lines. “How did,” She stumbled, Luz grabbing her arm as she felt herself relax, pulling off her glasses. She looked closely at them, wondering why there was a what looked like a small circle in the middle of each lens. 

“What is this,” she held her glasses up to the light, the rays filtering through the strange clean spots on the glasses and forming a circle on the ground below her. The shape was blurry, the lines unclear to her but she heard Luz rapidly scribbling out something on a piece of paper.

“Here, put this on your eyes and tap it.” Luz pressed a small piece of paper into her hands, Camila following along as she gently tapped the pieces of paper, a warmth sinking into her face as she blinked, opening her eyes as she looked around, and then back at the glasses in her hands, her vision clear.

“This,” Camila stared at the glasses in her hands, blinking rapidly as her mind raced. “This is incredible.” Luz nodded rapidly as her eyes lit up. 

“Right?” Luz vibrated with excitement, “Magic is incredible.”

“Ha!” Eda laughed as she came up to the two of them, “I knew there had to be a reason why Lily stopped wearing glasses. And she said that she just outgrew them, fat chance she just wanted to not look dorky.” Camila laughed, Eda feeling the sound tug on her heart as she cleared her throat awkwardly. 

“I uh, not that your glasses are dorky Cami.” Eda said, scratching the back of her head. Luz looked in between the two, her eyes widening as she ran over and grabbed Amity’s hand, dragging her upstairs. 

“I gotta go show Amity something be back bye!” Luz yelled in one breath, bolting up the stairs as Eda stared after her curiously. 

“Slow down Luz,” Amity laughed as Luz pulled her up the stairs, Luz halting on the top step, turning to Amity with a bright smile that left her feeling stunned. 

“Sorry Amity,” Luz grinned, slowing down before she pulled her into her room, turning to Amity and squealing softly. 

“Did you see that?” Luz asked, not waiting for an answer before she started rambling, “Eda was acting all blushy around my mom, what if she has a crush?” 

“Eda with a crush?” Amity laughed softly, “Are you sure?” 

“I know what I saw,” Luz rambled, clapping her hands to her cheeks, “they would be so cute together.” 

“Yeah,” Amity mumbled, smiling at Luz’s enthusiasm. The two fell into an easy silence, Luz staring at a mirror that was propped up in the corner. Suddenly she realized the whole reason why she had attempted to try to figure out the illusion glyphs in the first place.

“Oh,” Luz pulled a small glyph out of her pocket, blushing slightly as she held it out to Amity. “I uh, I made this for you.” Amity looked at the piece of paper curiously. 

“Does it change my ears too?” Luz giggled, the sound making Amity smile unconsciously. 

“No silly,” Luz fiddled with the paper slightly, “it well, hmm, maybe it can be a surprise?” she said with a shrug, Amity rolling her eyes fondly before nodding. 

“Yes!” Luz pumped a fist in victory, “Alright close your eyes.” Amity complied, feeling Luz gently place something on her head and gently pat it, a flash of light leaking in from her closed eyes. 

Luz watched as Amity’s hair turned an auburn brown, a confused look on her face as she scrunched up her nose. The sight made her heart clench, having to swallow the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. 

“Luz can I open my eyes now?” Amity asked Luz quickly turning her towards the mirror. 

“Y-” she cleared her throat, “Yeah.” Amity opened her eyes, staring at the mirror as she saw her own reflection, reaching up to touch her hair as she sat with a stunned expression. 

“You said that you liked your old hair, and I know that the human world isn’t that great,” Luz scuffed her foot on the floor of the room with a sheepish grin. “So I wanted to do something for you, and I know it isn’t much but,” Her word were cut off as Amity let out a giggle, Luz stunned as she watched a large grin creep over Amity’s face. 

“I,” Amity floundered for words, stunned as she looked in the mirror. She hadn’t seen her natural hair color for years. “Thanks Luz.” 

“No problem,” Luz breathed out, still trying to set her brain back on track. “I like the color.” She said, clearing her throat as she realized what she said, “I mean it looks cute, not that green isn't cute but you know.” She flushed in embarrassment as she stumbled over her words. Amity blushed a bright crimson, fiddling with the hem of her shirt as her ears twitched wildly. 

Amity rocked back and forth on her feet, her heart hammering against her chest. Luz went through all of that for her. She remembered something that she had mentioned and then did something for her. She couldn’t keep a wild grin from her face as her eyes darted in between the mirror and Luz’s face. Her heart melted slightly, feeling an uncharacteristic boldness she stepped forward and hugged Luz, summoning up all of her courage as she pressed a quick peck on Luz’s cheek, her ears immediately flapping as she tapped her finger against her thigh, mumbling another quick thanks as she fled the room, running down the stairs as she tried to contain a loud giggle. 

Luz stood stunned for a moment, heat creeping across her face as she blinked. What was that…. Did Amity? Could Amity? She shook her thoughts as she reached up and gently touched her cheek. Amity was so pretty, and sweet, and the way that she laughed and smiled when she was feeling good. Amity was just being thankful, she reassured herself, that is what friends did right.

She leaned against the back of the door, letting out a breath as she thought of Amity’s giggle and the feeling of her lips on her cheek. Luz buried her head in her hands, her brain short circuiting. She felt a pit open in her stomach, her mouth drying out. 

This couldn’t be… was it? She groaned to herself as she felt her heart pick up. Oh dear… 

Luz couldn’t help but feel a smile creep onto her face, in contrast with the pit that opened up in her stomach. Crushes didn’t work out well for Luz, her smile grew muted, especially a crush on one of her best friends. She absentmindedly rubbed the spot where Amity had pecked her on the cheek, smiling as she tried to put herself together before going back downstairs, unable to get the thought of Amity smiling out of her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well... clutches my headcannons and scraps of scenes.... see yall next week right?  
> lol but yes hope you all enjoy!   
> Thanks for reading! and thanks for everyone who helped me get this out!


	12. Break Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emira makes a move to get out from the control of her parents with some help from Viney. 
> 
> Amity learns more about Luz's time at human school and Luz explores her newfound feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Chapter title: Vinera fans, this shit is for you
> 
> hello everyone! another chapter, at the start of a brand new semester! I am excited for that.   
> Hope you all enjoy! bit shorter chapter but no less action packed.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Viney took Emira’s hands, rubbing her thumb across the back of Emira’s knuckles. She chose to ignore the subtle shake to her hands as she tried to give Emira a reassuring smile.

“Yes, I have to.” Emira gave a shaky smile, trying to project as much confidence as she could. It failed as her smile wavered, her lips twitching in nervousness.

Viney tried to stifle a smile, the anxiety obvious on Emira’s face. “Well me and my assistant will take care of you,” She ruffled Puddles fur, the griffin resting, pressed up against Emira’s legs. Puddles gave a rumbling purr, head butting Viney’s hand before leaning her full weight against Emira, the girl straining to stand upright with the entire weight of the griffin leaning against her. 

“And she is a great assistant,” Emira patted Puddles, her grin disappearing as Emira turned around. She placed her hand on the wall to hold herself up as she tried to shift the griffin off of her leg gently. They had agreed to meet outside of the beast keeping stables after school to remove the tracker on her. 

After some bargaining she had gotten Ed to agree to create an illusion of her studying with him in the library; playing it off to him as wanting to get a date with Viney. Not that that was a lie, her brain helpfully supplied, a small blush on her face. 

“Okay,” Viney turned around, two small potion vials in her hand, “ready for this?” one potion was a bright yellow while the other was a soft lavender, Emira biting her lips as she tapped her foot. 

“Can I be honest and say no?” Viney laughed, causing Emira to smile unconsciously. 

“Yeah,” Viney gave her a crooked grin, “I honestly wouldn’t be doing so hot if I was in this situation. You are pretty brave Em.” Emira felt her ears twitch, a blush spreading across her face. 

“Brave. Yeah.” She repeated with a dopey grin on her face, shaking her head as she rubbed the back of her neck. “I mean, you’re brave. You didn’t have to help out, I know that Bump is probably on your case about double tracking anyway. Which is totally cool.” She stammered out, Viney laughing as her cheeks flushed slightly. 

Nailed it, Emira said to herself, taking her hand off the wall of the stables, her eyes widening as the full weight of Puddles was placed on her legs. She let out a strangled yelp as she fell over, crashing into the ground as Puddles copied her cry, sprawled out across her legs. 

Viney doubled over in laughter, offering her hand to Emira. “You’re a riot Blight.” Emira took her hand, her eyes widening in surprise as she was pulled to her feet swiftly. Her eyes were drawn to Viney’s biceps as the girl pulled her up, her stomach flipping. 

“You know me,” Emira winked, “Chaos is my middle name.” They both giggled, falling silent for a moment before their eyes were drawn to their still clasped hands. Both of them leg go quickly, Emira putting her hand behind her back as she rocked on her heels. “So,” she drew out the word. “How is this gonna work.” 

“Right.” Viney cleared her throat, holding up the yellow potion. “This guy here is supposed to overload the glyph, make it short out. This one is for the memory, make it so that you forget the glyph even existed in the first place. Just remember to focus on what you want to forget, and the potion will do the rest.” 

“And you have the antidote?” Emira asked.

“Yup,” Viney pointed over to Puddles, “I have it with my trusted assistant.” Emira turned around, looking at the griffin as Puddles looked up at her, chewing on a roll of bandages. 

Emira laughed nervously, looking back to see Viney grinning at her, waving a smaller clear vial in her hands. Emira sighed in relief, shaking her head as she grinned. 

“Alright Em,” Viney’s use of her nickname making her heart flutter, “no more stalling, let’s do this.” Emira nodded, holding her arm out as Viney gently grabbed her wrist, turning her arm over and drawing a small spell circle. The blue light played over Emira’s skin, sparkling around a small rectangular shape on her forearm. 

“This may hurt,” Emira nodded solemnly, tightening her fist. Viney’s expression grew focused, uncorking the potion and letting out a breath as she gently tipped the liquid onto Emira’s arm. 

A flash of pain lanced through Emira, her breath driven out of her as she watched the glyph light up brightly before fading, a part of her arm stinging from the sensation. Viney gently reached down and peeled off the glyph, revealing red raw skin beneath. 

Emira winced as the wind hit her burn, Viney chewing on her bottom lip in concentration. She reached down into Puddles pouch, pulling out a small potion vial that she popped the lid off with her thumb, pouring the blue liquid onto the burn. It stung, Emira flinching as Viney hastily drew a spell circle, the stinging fading into a deep numbness. A chill crept under her skin, soothing the area as Viney gently wrapped a bandage around her arm, tying it off with a small bow. 

“There we go,” she said with a proud grin, “You’ll be back to causing all of us trouble in no time.” 

“Is that all I do for you Vin,” Emira rubbed her arm as she shot back her retort, “just cause trouble?” she pouted, a fake hurt expression on her face. 

“I happen to like trouble.” Viney laughed as Emira blinked in confusion, her mouth opening and closing without words. “Come on trouble, we haven’t finished this off yet.” She waved the memory potion in front of her. 

Emira snatched the potion out of her hands, trying to hide her flushed face as she tried to attempt to grin before she tipped the potion into her mouth. “Whoa, slow down there Em.” Viney waved her hand in front of her, Emira already downing the entire potion. The glyph, the glyph, she focused on the knowledge in her head, rapidly trying to remember to include Amity’s location before her vision blurred. 

Her head swam, Emira stumbling slightly as Viney grabbed onto her shoulders. “I got you, I got you.” Viney muttered, Emira unconsciously grabbing onto her arms. 

“Wha-” Emira blinked, looking around before her eyes were drawn to her arm, blinking in confusion. “How did that happen?” she puzzled, Viney lightly chuckling. 

“Prank gone wrong,” she smiled, relaxing as she saw the potion take effect, Emira’s eyes lightly glowing lavender for a moment before they faded back into gold. 

“That would be a first,” Edric’s voice interrupted them, Emira rolling her eyes. “Or would it be.” 

“Yeah yeah, and since we do all our pranks together what does that say about you.” She shot back, Edric putting a hand on his chest in mock indignation. 

“I, dear sister, have done nothing wrong ever in my life.” The two of them looked at each other for a moment before busting into laughter, Viney shaking her head fondly. 

“Alright you two,” Viney squeezed Emira’s hand for a moment before letting go. “I’ll see you tomorrow Em?” Emira nodded, her stomach churning as Viney gave her a bright grin. “Cool, totally cool.” Viney flushed slightly, whistling as Puddles got up, bumping her head against Emira’s side as walked over to Viney. 

“Bye Emira’s crush.” Edric waved, Emira turning and punching him in the shoulder. Viney slipped as she got onto Puddles, falling onto the ground as she flushed bright red. 

“Ass.” Emira pushed Edric, a red flush on her face as he laughed. Viney waved quickly back at them as she took off on Puddles, the griffin taking off in hurry. The twins turned and started on their way home, Emira looking down with a slight smile. 

“You’re just as bad as Mittens.” Edric teased, Emira snorting as she opened her mouth to retort, her words dying on her tongue. 

That was strange, she thought, scrunching her eyebrows together in confusion, she could have sworn that she was about to say something about where Amity was. She tried again, her mouth opening with no response as Edric looked at her curiously. 

“Just an off day,” Emira tried to smile, Edric patting her on the back as they walked in relative silence. The Blight manor soon towered above them, the twins sharing a look as they both took a synchronous breath in. 

Swinging open the doors they entered the house, Emira’s mouth going dry as she saw her mother waiting in the entrance hall, her hands clasped in front of her and a disapproving frown on her face. 

“Emira.” Odalia’s voice was cold, Emira automatically trying to repress a wince as her mother stalked forward. Her cold demeanor was at odds with the warm reds and gold of the entryway, Odalia moving forward and stopping in front of Emira. “Where were you after school today Emira?” 

“I was at school, me and Edric were studying -” Emira started, swallowing the lump in her throat. 

“That is a lie.” Odalia interrupted her, raising an eyebrow as she reached out, putting her hands on Emira’s shoulders. “What did you really do?” she asked, putting stress on the question as Emira fidgeted in place. 

“I-” Emira licked her lips nervously as she tried to recall exactly what she had done, her mind fuzzy for some reason. Odalia gave a sigh of disappointment, turning Emira around without warning as her eyes met with a purple orb. Alador stood in front of her, holding a oracle sphere as he frowned down at her. 

“Now,” Odalia’s fingers gripped Emira’s shoulder, “What did you do today?” She asked mockingly, Emira feeling queasy as the magic invaded her mind, the orb playing the scenes as she thought them. 

Emira talking with Viney, stumbling over words, before she felt a sense of pain and Viney patched her up. Some of the vision was blurry, Odalia eventually letting go of her as she nodded to Alador, the two of them turning to head into the house. 

“I see you took inspiration from your failure of a sister.” Odalia said, her back turned to Emira as Edric helped her stand steady. “At least you had the sense to try to go for a witch, but a lowborn at that.” She sneered. 

Emira felt her head spin, fury coursing through her, accompanied by a strange sense of relief; they didn’t find what they wanted, Emira noted the disappointed tone to her mother’s voice. 

“Break things off with this girl.” Odalia paused at the foot of the stairs, not even bothering to look back or receive an answer as she went back into the house, Emira glaring after her. 

“I can get why Amity left,” Edric muttered, Emira nodding in agreement. She was unable to stop her lips from quirking upwards as she felt a strange sense of victory. 

“Me too Ed, me too.” 

—

Amity scribbled in her sketchbook as she sat on the concrete steps in front of school, humming to herself as she waited for Luz. Her last class of the day was art, and Amity found herself slowly sketching out a plan for her assignment. Luz had theater for her last class and would often be late; staying a little while afterwords, usually caught up in whatever stage project she was working on. 

The end of her pencil tapped a steady rhythm against her sketchbook, sighing before she started to work on a drawing half-heartedly. She stifled a yawn as she worked, trying to think about what to draw. Her mind was pulled back to the night before, Luz and her staying up late at the Owl House, reading Azura as Amity kept looking into the mirror. 

It had been years since she had seen her original hair, and for Luz to remember what she said and then do something about it… her thoughts trailed off as she remembered pressing a kiss to Luz’s cheek. Her face flushed, burying her head in her sketchbook. She had no idea what had come over her, she just wanted to make sure that Luz knew how much that had meant to her. 

Maybe she could do something for Luz, she bounced her leg as she chewed on the bottom of her lip, trying to think of what she could do.

She idly sketched out a couple of figures on the page, almost lost in her work as she heard quiet footsteps behind her. Her ears twitched as she smiled, “Hey Luz,” she said, a soft groan of disappointment coming from behind her. 

“Aww, how did you know?” Luz sat down next to her, a fake pout on her face. 

“Who else is going to try to sneak up on me you dork.” Amity bumped her shoulder into Luz. “You ready to get through some more Azura tonight?” she asked. The two of them had slowly been working their way through the new Azura, spreading the chapters out through the week. Amity looked forward to curling up on the couch, both of them absorbed in the latest chapter. 

“Of course!” Luz hopped up, turning as she placed a hand on her chest and threw her arm out. “The great Luzura and Hecamity return! Together we can conquer any obstacle!” 

“Even if its Mrs. Moor’s geometry homework?” Amity asked, a soft smile on her face as she watched Luz. 

“Oh no!” Luz did a dramatic twirl, clutching her shirt, “Math, Luzura’s only weakness!” Amity giggled into her hands, a smile stretching across Luz’s face. 

“I see some people still need to grow up.” A familiar voice made Luz’s stomach turn, her smile turning into a grimace as she looked down. She had forgotten that people from her old school were here, so caught up in the excitement of having Amity go to school with her. Why did they have to pass by right now. 

A low noise cut through the retreating laughter, Luz raising her head to see Amity, a glower on her face as she stared past Luz. A growling noise came from her throat as her lips twitched upward, her fangs slightly bared. Luz reached out, resting her hand gently on Amity’s knee. The growling stopped, Amity startling as she blushed, putting her face down in her hands again. 

“Did you growl?” Luz asked teasingly, a small smile on her face. 

Amity muttered into her hands, Luz sitting down next to next to her and leaning against her slightly. A comfortable silence fell over them as Luz tapped her feet. 

The sunken pit in her stomach was an unwelcome yet familiar feeling to Luz as she frowned slightly to herself. The Isles and Hexside were so different, she felt free there, like she fit in. She rolled a small pebble around with her shoes as she thought to herself. The human world was always a mystery to her, she had just forgotten how much of one. 

Amity grumbled softly as she pulled her face out of her hands. “Does-” she started, Luz quickly interrupting her. 

“Just jerks who don’t know how to have fun.” She shot Amity a smile, the witch’s brow scrunching up. 

“Luz.” Amity tentatively reached out towards her, “you know you can tell me if something is wrong.” Luz kept her eyes down, giving a small sigh as she looked back up. 

“Alright.” She gave in, her foot bouncing in nervousness. What if questions bounced around in her mind, pushing them down as she started to talk. 

“Willow and Gus were my first friends,” Luz said, Amity sitting stunned and in shock, “Including you, that is all the friends I have. People here always found me strange. I didn’t fit in here.”

“But-” Amity started to say, closing her mouth as she tried to think of what to say. Luz was kind, funny, and so sweet; how anyone could think that she didn’t fit in. 

Her face fell into a frown, guilt worming her way into her guy. But she thought that, her brain told her, she told Luz that she didn’t belong. She did the same thing that they had just done, told Luz that she couldn’t be a witch, and was cruel to Willow for years. She felt a sharp pain in her chest, looking away from Luz. Could she even claim to be Luz’s friend? She thought, worry worming its way into her stomach.

“I’m sorry.” She said, her voice small as Luz wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Amity felt herself shrink, she didn’t deserve this affection, especially now.

“You don’t have to apologize.” Luz smiled, “I have you, and Willow and Gus and Eda.” Her grin grew wider, “And mom is letting me go back to Hexside.” 

“No, I.” Amity let her sentence trail off, secretly glad that Luz had misunderstood what she was apologizing for. She didn’t want to remind Luz or herself of how she used to act. That Amity felt so distant from how she felt now. “Still…” she trailed off. She heard the mocking laughter again in her head, her eyes growing cold. 

“Ami.” Luz took her hand, “Don’t do anything okay. I don’t want you to get in trouble for me.” Amity opened her mouth to speak before Luz asked again. “Please? For me?” 

“Fine.” Amity felt her objections die on her tongue, a small blush on her face. “But you aren’t alone anymore Luz.” She let her shoulder rest on Luz’s shoulder, trying to fight down a blush. 

Heat rose to Luz’s face, her heart skipping a beat as she cast her eyes around, desperately trying to find something to change the topic. Her eyes landed on the rough sketch that Amity had done, peering at it closely. “What were you drawing?” she asked, Amity quickly covering it up with a blush. 

“Nothing, just, practicing.” Amity said haltingly, “It’s for class mostly.” She flipped a few pages forward, stopping on a page where a rough sketch of Azura was drawn out. “I have been enjoying doing more drawings.”

“That’s amazing Ami!” Luz smiled, “We should draw something together!” Amity blushed slightly, nodding in agreement. Luz pumped her fist in victory, the sound of Amity giggling making her lips quirk up in a smile. 

“Yeah, that would be nice.” Amity said softly, fidgeting slightly as she realized that Luz’s arm was still looped around her shoulders. 

“And we have to plan out our outfits!” Luz said excitably, “We only have two more weeks till Halloween, and we still have to invite Gus and Willow.” Amity watched Luz ramble with a small smile on her face. 

“We are still going as Azura and Hecate right?” Luz asked, a pleading look on her face as she noticed a small flush on Amity’s face. 

“Yeah we can do that.” Amity agreed, Luz inwardly celebrating. She was going to be able to do a costume with a friend, and it was Amity. Maybe they could even do some scenes from the book, or some of her favorite fan fictions. She blushed as she thought about holding hands with Amity, telling her how much she cared about her just like some of her favorite scenes. 

She could do it just like their favorite scenes from Azura, she smiled as she thought of how she was going to act on her new found crush. Her fingers tapped on the concrete, her brain jumping to the fact that this was the human world. This wasn’t Hexside, where she could do a huge plot to win over Amity, this was the human world. She didn’t even know if Amity liked her or not. She liked someone back at Grom didn’t she? Could she even start to hope that Amity could like her back? 

She cast a furtive look over at the witch, catching her tucking a strand of hair back under her beanie. She was chewing on the the bottom of her lip as she sketched, looking up and smiling at Luz before her eyes darted back down to her sketch. 

Art, Amity liked art. Luz smiled as she remembered a piece of art that Amity had burned in embarrassment. “Ooor,” she leaned over, watching for any reaction from Amity. “I could go as someone’s favorite soothsayer.” 

Amity’s face went deep red, her head falling down into her sketchbook as she audibly squeaked. Was that, did Luz. “Y- you should go as Azura.” Amity mumbled. She couldn’t handle Luz going as her favorite character. But Hecate and Azura are meant to be together, a small part of her brain supplied, her ears twitching as she tried to fight down a flush. 

A deep red blush spread across Amity’s face, Luz smiling at how adorable she thought it was. Was Amity embarrassed? Luz opened her mouth to apologize when the sound of a horn interrupted her, looking up to see Camila’s car as she shrugged to herself, pulling her backpack on as she stood up. “Come on Ami,” she held a hand out to help her out, “We have costumes to plan.” 

The sudden warmth of Amity’s hand in her own made her smile, pulling her up as Amity let go, Luz taking a fraction of a second longer to free her hand as she looked away bashfully. Luz stood frozen for a moment as she stared at her hand, another honk of the horn snapping her out of her thoughts as she raced to catch up with Amity, her heart pounding in her head. 

—

The alarm was only able to get out a half of screech before Lilith’s hand batted it off of the night stand. She let out a sigh, rolling out of bed before putting the small alarm back onto its place. She stretched, feeling her shoulders pop slightly as she took a sip of the water on her dresser. The sharp chime of her scroll snapped her head sideways to where it was resting. 

She checked her appearance in the mirror quickly, casting a quick spell as she pulled her hair back to tame it slightly. She answered her phone, steepling her fingers together as Kikimora appeared on the screen. 

“Lilith.” Kikimora’s voice was hard, Lilith schooling her expression to be as neutral as possible. 

“Kikimora.” Lilith responded, “To what do I owe the pleasure of such an early call.” 

Kikimora’s eye darted towards Lilith’s unruly hair, her expression unchanging. “I see I have woken you, but please, if you prioritize your sleep over your position.” She trailed off. 

“My duty to Emperor Belos comes foremost before all,” Lilith said, a slight nod the only reaction. 

“Then why have you not brought him the Owl Lady?” Lilith flinched inwardly at the question. 

“I am trying to ensure her cooperation,” Lilith explained, “If she comes to us willingly there will be a much higher chance of success than fighting her every step.” It was a half truth, Lilith figuring that it would be enough. Why Edalyn couldn’t see that the Emperor’s coven was the best option for her Lilith could not even start to fathom. 

“The time has long passed to try to get Edalyn to come quietly.” Kikimora stated, Lilith’s heart plunging. “The emperor is displeased by your inaction, but as a reflection of your loyalty, he is willing to give you time to best enact your plan.” 

Lilith opened her mouth to speak but was quickly cut off. “You have two months.” Kikimora’s voice was cold, a finality to it that Lilith quickly recognized. “After that, no more plans, no more traps. We will take matters into our own hands.” The call cut off, Lilith sitting down on her bed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. 

Damn you Edalyn, she thought to herself. You aren’t making this easy to help you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed!! I wanted to do a bit of a nod to the fact that we see Amity with Malingale the soothsayer - who I personally see as either butch or nonbinary because we know that Amity is a lesbian - but either way, some fun with that
> 
> Exciting news, this fanfic received some fanart!!! done by the fantastic majestics_art on instagram.   
> go check it out here, her art lives up to her user name: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKE6ZdploQI/ 
> 
> love hearing from everyone about their thoughts on this silly fic. Y'all give me some good constant serotonin. 
> 
> a massive thanks to her and to everyone who helped me brainstorm this chapter.   
> Thanks for reading and I will see you all next week.


	13. School talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity learns more about Luz's past with school in the human realm
> 
> The Boiling Isles gang tries to figure out how to fix their situation as Emira deals with complicated feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! sorry this chapter was so late oh gosh was it a struggle for my brain.   
> I discuss bullying in this chapter - and also how much the american school system absolutely sucks for anyone who needs any specific learning needs.   
> especially the feeling of figuring out something for yourself and being told that you are wrong.

Luz felt her eyes pulled sideways, looking over to where Amity was sitting at the desk, the small noises of her pencil scratching away at her notes drifting through the air and making Luz’s head tilt in her direction. 

Motes of dust floated through the classroom, Luz feeling her eyes track them idly. Her eyes bounced in between her half scribbled notes, the dust floating through the air, and Amity. At the thought her eyes darted back to Amity, watching her eyebrows scrunch together as she tapped her pencil on her chin. A small smile made its way onto Luz’s face, resting her chin on her hand as she stared at Amity. 

She saw Amity’s hair twitch, a sign that her ear underneath was moving as Amity looked over toward her. Luz snapped her head down, trying to fight the blush off of her face as she looked down at her math notes. Ever since she realized that she had a crush on Amity she felt herself drawn to her even more. 

The way that Amity looked with her hair down, the light brown roots of her hair reminding Luz how Amity looked like with her hair a light brown, a wild smile on her face as she stepped toward Luz and leaned in to kiss her… 

She let her face fall down, hitting the desk with a small thud as she tried to hide the bright blush on her face. ‘Math notes, math notes’ Luz repeated to herself forcing her eyes forward toward her notebook. She tried to tune into the lecture, frowning to herself as tried to connect the words to the practice problems in front of her. 

‘How can you remember all of the different steps?’ she wondered to herself, trying to catch up to Mrs. Moor’s lecture. She narrowed her eyes, trying to copy down the notes from the board. Her notes overlapped, going to erase them as she tilted her head. 

‘There is no right way to do things.’ Eda’s advice echoed in her head, Luz staring at the math as she noticed a connection, rapidly trying out the new plan. She flew through the problem, getting her answer as she tapped her foot, waiting for Mrs Moor to catch up.

The answer matched! Luz gave a small fist pump of victory at her side. She swore that she heard a small giggle come from Amity’s direction as she furtively tried to check, only seeing Amity focused on her work. 

Shaking her head she turned back to her notes, starting to fly through the practice problems, easily finishing as she idly doodled on the side of the page. 

“Miss Noceda.” Mrs. Moor called, causing her to snap her head up as the woman gave her a measured stare. “If you have time to scribble in your notes then maybe you would like to come up to the front and show the class how to do the next problem?” A round of giggles came from the class as Luz hopped up, blushing slightly as she walked to the front of the class. She caught a glance at Amity’s confused glance as she walked up, almost wincing as she thought about the last time she was in front of a class presentation that Amity was watching. 

Turning her head up to the board she smiled, she had just done this problem earlier, and with the way she figured out too! This was going to be easy, she thought as she started to fly though the problem. Within a few seconds she had finished, a proud grin on her face as she pointed out how to do the problem. 

She looked back to the class, noticing Amity shoot her a small thumbs up before turning back to scribble down the notes, Luz catching a glimpse of her erasing parts to do it the way that Luz did it. 

“Despite that being correct, and a… creative way to find the solution.” The sound of her teachers voice made Luz’s stomach plummet. 

‘Not again.’ She thought to herself, Amity looking up quizzically. 

“That was not the correct way to do the problem. If you do that on the test points will be marked off.” Luz trudged back to her seat, a few more giggles through the classroom. She saw Amity’s eyes narrow, going to raise her hand as Luz shook her head, trying to get her attention. 

Amity pulled her hand back down with a pained expression as Luz sat in her desk, lightly grumbling to herself. She glanced over at Amity, the witch moving her notes to the side of the desk. Every single problem had been replaced with Luz’s way of solving it. 

She looked up, meeting the golden eyes of the witch as Amity gave her a small encouraging smile and a thumbs up. Luz grinned, turning back to her notes as she started to scribble out some ideas for potions and costumes; not everything about school sucked now at least she thought, resisting the urge to glance across at Amity every few seconds. 

—

Gus looked around furtively, checking the halls as he turned and whispered. “Clear.” He whispered, pulling at the edge of a locker as it swung open, revealing the secret room inside. He scooted in along the wall, Willow following behind as she casually walked through the door. 

“No one was even out there Gus.” She smiled as she rolled her eyes fondly, closing the secret entrance behind her. Sitting in the center of the room were the Blight twins, Barcus, Jerbo, and Viney; lunches and notes strewn around them as Viney waved them over. The Blight twins were huddled off to the side, whispering to each other. 

“Come on guys,” she patted the ground where an open spot was, “saved you a spot.” Gus and Willow walked over, sitting in the loose circle. 

“Alright,” Viney started, “Now that we are all here.” She tossed two small vials to each of the twins, a bright lavender potions inside. Both of them caught the potions and stared at them blankly. 

“Uh- what is this?” Edric held the potion away from his body like it would explode at any moment. 

“It’s not gonna hurt you,” Viney rolled her eyes, “Come on Em, drink it.” Emira looked back and forth between the vial and Viney’s face. Sighing, she popped off the stopper to the vial and downed the drink. Edric watched closely before doing the same, the two of them looking off in the distance with clouded eyes. 

Emira startled back to consciousness, taking a deep breath in she reached out, fumbling for something to grab onto as Viney took her hand. Her movements stilling, she let out a relaxed sigh as she opened her eyes, the bright purple fading back into a deep gold that made a smile unconsciously appear on Viney’s face. 

“Aghh!” The strangled yelp made them look over, Edric having tried to stand up while feeling for the wall. They watched as his legs tangled with Jerbo, Edric crashing down on top of him and Barcus. The rest of the witches looked at each other before breaking into a round of giggles. 

“Very funny.” Edric and Jerbo said at the same time, both of them snapping their heads towards each other as the rest of the group laughed harder. Emira let herself slump forward, still giggling as she leaned up against Viney, smiling up at her. Suddenly she looked away, pulling her hand back quickly as she coughed and sat up again. 

“Wha-” Viney frowned as she reached out her hand.

“Okay update time.” Emira clapped her hands, Edric giving a sigh and a small frown. Rubbing his head he sat up, the rest of the group gradually forming a loose circle again. Viney narrowed her eyes in confusion, staring at Emira’s head as she crossed her arms, a tense atmosphere hanging over the group. 

“First off, it was a success.” Emira said, Edric nodding in agreement. “As we thought my mother tried to figure out what happened.” Viney put a hand on Emira’s shoulder, the girl freezing before continuing on. “But the potions worked, they weren’t able to figure out anything.” Her shoulder slumped, head tilting down. 

“Anything except for you Viney.” Emira said, her tone defeated. 

“What do you mean?” Viney asked, her eyebrows scrunching together in confusion. Willow felt her stomach turn as she winced, a feeling of dread pooling in her. 

“They know that I…” Emira trailed off, gesturing aimlessly with her hands before sighing. “They want me to stop associating with you.” Her voice was defeated, a near monotone as Viney took her hand off the witch’s shoulder. 

“And are you gonna listen to them?” Viney’s voice was guarded, a hint of vulnerability to it as she waited for an answer. When silence fell over the small group Willow moved to speak but Viney continued. “Come on Em. Say something.” 

“No, no.” Emira sighed, burying her head in her hands as Edric patted her back, Viney scooting over to sit next to the girl. “I’m not going to let them do that to me.” 

Looking up around the room she steeled her expression. “They won’t control me, I won’t give up on people for them. I’m not like-” she clamped her mouth shut, closing her eyes as Edric winced. 

“Not like who?” Willow said, her voice low as she met Emira’s gaze. 

“It was a bad comparison anyway.” Emira tried to wave it off, guilt clear on her face. “I didn’t mean. You know it is different.” 

“It is.” Willow stated plainly, taking a deep breath before she let it out, placing her palms on her knees. “You have a way to figure stuff out; friends and illusion magic and you don’t have to deal with them much anyways. Amity never got that choice.” Her eyes tinted green for a second, her fingers twitching for a moment before she let out her breath, her eyes back to normal. 

“She beats herself about it.” Willow said, refusing to lower her gaze. “She still keeps apologizing to me. And you don’t know that she thought you two would just leave her stranded.” Willow shook her head, rubbing the bridge of her nose in stress. “I know you wouldn’t abandon her, but she didn’t.”

Emira looked down, rubbing a thumb over her hand as she sighed. “I know. I was wrong, I’m trying to reach out to her I just.” Viney put a comforting hand on her thigh, Emira shooting her a small smile. “We aren’t close, well, as close as I’d like, but she is my sister. As much as we tease her we still care.” 

“Just have a funny way of showing it.” Edric finished, cutting in for the first time. “Amity is a dork, but she’s our sister. And no one hurts family, especially if its family doing it.” He finished, Emira nodding along. 

“I know we have a lot of stuff that we have to work on together, and our parents aren’t the model of how to treat each other.” Emira put her hand over Viney’s gently, “But we want to try.” 

Willow’s face quirked up in a smile, nodding as she rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m sorry for snapping, I just, I think we are all on edge.” The group nodded, Viney squeezing Emira’s hand. 

“We need to figure out what to do next.” Viney cleared her throat before speaking again. “We know how to get rid of Edric’s glyph, or if we all have anything. If we could ensure that we got all of it in one go we could use that, but that would be a lot of potion.” 

Silence fell over the group, Gus tapping on his notebook before he tentatively spoke up, “what about the portal?” Willow tilted her head, letting out a hum as she thought it over. “If the portal killed Amity’s glyph, wouldn’t it take care of everything magical?” Gus continued, “And Luz wants us to visit the human world for some holiday called Halloween, we can all travel there and have the portal make sure that there is nothing hiding.” 

Edric smiled, a large grin on his face as Emira grinned back. “Knew that Amity would make friends with more geniuses, good idea kid. We can set up some illusions and get the Owl Lady to lend us the portal.” Willow nodded in agreement, the witches huddling together to discuss the plan. 

Viney noticed Emira moving off to the side, the girl rubbing her arms as she watched the rest of the witches talk. “Hey.” Viney moved over, laying a hand on her knee and whispering. “Are you alright Em?” 

“Yeah.” Emira tried to smile before she laughed to herself, “Nah, can’t get any lies past you huh V?”

“You would if you weren’t such a shit liar.” Viney bumped into her shoulder. 

“What me? Bad at lying?” Emira acted offended, putting a hand over her chest. “I’ll have you know that Emira Blight is a masterful liar.” 

“But Em isn’t.” Viney’s words made Emira’s heart skip, freezing up and trying to figure out what words to say, as she blinked. Viney smiled and took Emira’s hand, rubbing her thumbs over the back of her hand and winking. Emira went red as she sputtered, eventually groaning as she put her head in her free hand. 

Viney’s laugh was gentle, causing Emira to grin into her hand. “You, Em, are a good person. Trying to be better is great, and I want to stick around and see everything.” 

“Y-you dork.” Emira stuttered out, the grin still stretched across her face as Viney snorted, offering her her hand. 

“Come on lets get back to the group,” She nodded her head back to the animated discussion in the center of the room, “I heard Gus mention something about tricks and I want to pull a prank on our boys.” Emira laughed, looking up as she took Viney’s hand, a warm feeling spreading in her gut as she smiled. 

“Oh titan yeah you know I love pranks.” The two laughed, Viney pulling Emira into a side hug as they walked back to the group. 

—

The vibration from Amity’s heel bumping against her stool was methodical, a slow rhythmic thump. Her foot moved in time with the tick of the clock as she sketched idly on the page in front of her. Her last class of the day was art, and the room was hushed as everyone worked on their classwork save the scratching of pencils. 

Silence was a massive change from both Hexside and Luz, chaotic and noisy but packed so full of good memories and feelings. Her pencil eraser idly tapped away on her paper as she found herself lost in thought. Camila’s words to her had been echoing in her mind for the past few days, a constant mantra of ‘what do you want to do?’ 

How could one question be so hard? She asked herself, trying to focus on getting the perspective lines down the page. It had never occurred to her to ask herself that question, there had always been a clear line to follow: take abominations, impress Hexside enough to get fast tracked into the Emperor’s Coven, and from there strive upwards. 

But now? Now there was Luz, and Eda, and even Camila; and all of them broke the rules that she was expected to follow. If she kept her goals, what would she be forced to do? Turn in Eda? She snorted to herself, that would never happen after all the woman had done for her, so totally unlike her parents. 

She felt her fingers clench around her pencil, trying to relax as she took a deep breath. The Emperor’s Coven was closed to her now. Absentmindedly she started to rub the small patch of skin where the tracking glyph used to be; even if she was let back into her family, to Hexside, she didn’t know where she would go from here. 

Maybe she could go back to Hexside with Luz in the summer, when everything had calmed down. She cast a glance around the room, the silence wearing away at her. At Hexside the comforting noises of explosions and chatter would be in the background, letting her focus on her work without pulling her attention away at every moment by small noises. 

Abominations were simple, unlike the convoluted rules of the human world. She felt herself frown as she erased and redrew a few lines, Abominations were easy yes, but was that what she wanted to do with her life? What would she do besides that? 

Potions would be fun, and Eda could teach her, it seemed close enough to Abominations that she wouldn’t have to learn everything from the beginning again. Or maybe Bard track? She always enjoyed listening to the songs that Skara would come up with, and the music and art was always relaxing to her. 

A treacherous voice in the back of her mind told her that she didn’t have to choose, she could do all of the tracks, just like she had imagined being able to in the Emperor’s Coven. Just like Luz did. The image of her and Luz wearing matching uniforms, strolling through the halls of Hexside towards their next classes, pinkies locked together as they spent all day along side another learning magic. They could share notes, walk home home together, and maybe even share their lunch underneath the grom tree. 

Her face flushed as she put her head close to the paper and tried to focus on drawing. Her ears perked up as she heard whispering from a few tables over. 

“-You see her earlier?” the whispers were punctuated with giggles, two girls leaning towards each other as the words came in half garbled from the distance. 

“-know, should have figured nothing would change from middle school, she’s still a loser.” Amity felt her gut roil at the words, the girls reminding her of Boscha, a complicated mess of anger and guilt fighting inside of her. Anger because no one should have to go through that, and guilt as she remembered standing by and doing nothing while that happened for years. 

“You mean Luz-er.” Amity’s heart stopped, a low growl escaping her lips before she clamped down, biting hard on her lips. They were, they had. The guilt was gone, replaced by only anger, her eyes narrowing to a glare at the two as her pencil broke through the paper. 

“And she only has one friend too.” The two girls continued, Amity leaning to try to catch the whole conversation. “What has to be wrong with her to hang out with Luz.” 

Snap. 

Her pencil broke in her hands, snapping her eyesight to it as she blushed in embarrassment, turning around to try to root through her backpack. Looking up her eyes caught a few paint cans in the corner as another round of giggles made her seethe in anger. 

How could they say that about Luz? She was warm and caring, a pure force of kindness in Amity’s life. She remembered how Luz said that she didn’t like the human world, how she felt alone here. 

Lifting her hands she went to draw a spell circle before the memory of Luz shaking her head no echoed through her mind, her hands halting in mid air. Luz was good, and kind, and wouldn’t want her to do anything that could get her in trouble. 

“Maybe it’s pity, you know, playing a joke.” 

Then again Luz wasn’t here right now. 

Focusing her energy in her bile sac she drew a small spell circle. The paint cans in the corner rattled slightly before two tiny abominations climbed out, both were multicolored and slightly dripping pain as they helped each other climb down the stack of cans. Amity breathed, feeling the harsh draw from her bile sac as she looked towards the other corner of the classroom, shakily drawing another spell circle with her free hand. 

A large clattering noise drew everyones eyes over to the corner as a couple of easels clattered to the ground. A rush of air escaped Amity’s mouth, a sudden rumbling from her gut making her blink as the magic was pulled out of her. She paused for a moment, the rest of the class muttering. 

She had to move, she thought, shaking her head as she navigated the two paint abominations over to the table with the two girls. She quickly had each of them climb into one of the girls bags, letting the spell dissipate, the paint falling apart and coating the inside of the bags and everything in it. 

She chuckled to herself in satisfaction, a few moments passing by and allowing her to catch her breath. The bell rang, and her body went rigid as her ears flattened against her head. The screaming bells at Hexside had taken her years to get used to, and these human bells were much shriller and harsher. 

The class packed up, Amity moving slowly as she kept an eye on the two. One went to pack away her supplies, giving a shriek as she opened her bag to reveal that the entire inside had been coated in paint. She gingerly lifted a dripping phone as her face paled, her friend hurriedly opening her bag to see the same. 

Amity walked out of the classroom, shocked to see Luz waiting for her, giving her a big grin. 

“Hey Amity!” Despite her tiredness Amity couldn’t resist a smile stretching across her face. She gave a little wave as she walked over, stiffening slightly as Luz pulled her into a side hug. Yelling from inside the room caused Luz to turn, watching as two girls stomped out of the room, both of them dripping with paint as they stalked down the hall, everyone watching them. 

“Uh, Ami- what was that?” Luz said, watching the satisfied smile on Amity’s face. 

“I don’t know Luz.” Amity laughed slightly, gathering up courage as she reached out and looped her arm with Luz’s. “Maybe some people just need to grow up.” 

Luz’s face scrunched in confusion, her brain struggling to piece it together before her mine flashed back to the scene outside of school yesterday, the same words having been told to her by... oh that was what Amity did.

A blush crossed her face, looking away as she became extremely aware of Amity’s arm around hers. “You didn’t have to do that.” She muttered, unable to keep a smile from crossing her face. 

“What was it you told me?” Amity said, trying to pull more courage as she felt her lips dry. “W-we can do this together?” she said nervously, watching as Luz flushed. Shock filled her body, did she just get Luz to, to blush? She celebrated eternally as she felt her own face heat up, the two of them starting to walk out as they looked awkwardly away from each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Hope you all enjoyed!! I really like the slow process of having the twins get closer to Amity as Amity grows more and more confident in showing affection to Luz.   
> they are real characters and really just, I want to take risks to make them more realistic.   
> on to happier news! now that this chapter is done thank goodness I can keep moving.   
> I am also on a server called the Good Witch Society - where I talk about this fic a lot and there are tons of wonderful creators who are working on the steampunk beta AU.   
> here is the link to the GWS if you all are interested in joining a positive community - https://discord.gg/hSuCG86ay9  
> Thank you all and have a wonderful week see you soon.


	14. a surprise delivery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eda reflects on the changes in her life
> 
> Amity discovers the magic of video games and the difficulty of character creation
> 
> Camila gets a visitor at work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone!! I hope you enjoy this chapter of family fluff and bonding!  
> also if they made an Eragon video game they sure as heck made an Azura video game.   
> a kudos to you if you remember the Eragon videogame, also known as one week of my childhood.

Boom!

A crack of thunder from overhead made Eda’s ears perk up, her eyes instantly darting for any sign of shelter. The sounds of the street flooded her senses, the strange metal beasts roaring down the paved road, her shoulders falling in relief. This was the human world, no threat of acid rain here. She strolled out into the open sidewalk, adjusting the bag around her shoulders as she felt the first few drops of rain land on her skin. 

Rain in the human world was refreshing, so vastly different from the stinging acid of the Boiling Isles. - _Things were softer here_ \- She thought to herself, her mind pulled to the thought of a pair of warm brown eyes. Dragging a hand down her face she tried to to shake her thoughts away. There was no use in spending her entire day thinking of Camila. 

- _Even if the way that she laughed did funny things to her stomach_ \- Eda rolled her eyes at her inner thoughts, grumbling under her breath. An excited gasp pulled her eyes to the side, seeing a young kid staring at her, excitedly tugging at their mom’s sleeve with stars in their eyes as they pointed at Eda. She instinctively reached up, feeling her ears as she tugged the bandanna back into place to cover them. She picked up the pace and rounded the corner, slowing back down to a leisurely stroll.

Never could get used to that. 

Humans seemed so hung up on small differences, one small glimpse of a pointed ear or a tiny magic trick and they freak out and call the cops. Well, it was that or the stealing.

Eda hummed to herself as she spied a man in a fancy suit walking towards her, talking loudly on the phone, arm gesturing wildly. A flash of lighting caused light to glint off of a watch on the man’s wrist, Eda’s eyes snapping to the light. A slow smile curled across her face, making sure to slow down slightly in perpetration. 

Tripping slightly over her own feet she stumbled, hooking one arm around a lamp post as she bumped into the man, sending him stumbling as she drew a tiny spell circle. The breath was pulled out of her, blinking as she felt the watch appear in her palm. She leaned heavily on the pole, blinking in surprise. No spell had ever taken that much out of her before. 

“Hey, hey lady? You alright?” A hand shook her shoulder, looking up as the man stumbled backwards, making a surprised noise. She looked over toward the window, seeing her pupils expanded to fill her whole eye, feathers peeking out from the sides of her eyes. She turned away from the reflection, stumbling as she took off into a run, rounding the corner as she saw the familiar wooded area that signaled that she was getting close by to the portal door. 

She fell against a tree, grimacing as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to stave off a headache. - _What in Titan’s name was that?_ \- She had been casting spells in the human world on and off for fifteen years, and nothing had ever drained her that heavily. Her hand drifted down to tap gently gently on the magical gem in her chest, frowning as she noticed that it had darkened slightly.

A soft cooing came from the tree above her, looking up as she saw Owlbert sitting on a branch with a small plastic shopping bag hanging from his beak. Shooting a small smile up at the Palisman she lifted her hand, Owlbert fluttering down to land on her fingers. “What did you get huh?” she said, raising one eyebrow as she lifted the watch with her other hand. “Bet it’s not as shiny as this one.” 

Owlbert gave an affronted hoot, dropping the bag in Eda’s hand as he dived into the bag, rustling around. He popped his head out, a pile of softly glowing tubes balanced on his head. Eda narrowed her eyes, biting her lip as she tried to resist the urge to grab the brightly colored objects. 

With a barely traceable flash of movement she snatched the bright circles, holding them up in front of her eyes as she tilted her head. A soft purr came from her throat as she lost herself in the colors. Owlbert let out a self satisfied hoot, Eda grumbling in response as she slipped the circles onto her wrists. She paused to admire them as Owlbert landed on her shoulder. 

“Fine, you win this one.” Eda pulled a small book out of her hair, flipping it open to a page labeled ‘Shiny Loot War.’ She made a mark under a stylized picture of Owlbert, frowning slightly as she realized that this latest win made it a tie. She glared at Owlbert, the palisman preening as he let out an almost chuckling hoot. 

Closing the book with a small snap she pushed it back into her hair, the smaller bag of items following it into seemingly bottomless mess of hair. She set off towards the portal, now at its place at Luz’s house. A soreness seeped into her bones as she walked, keeping a close eye on her gemstone as the black color seemed to ebb and flow. 

Magic was harder in the human realm, pulled harder from the stores of bile within her. She coughed up a feather, frowning to herself as she considered how the magic affected her curse. Any magic seemed to accelerate the process of the curse, she chewed on her lip as she sighed. No magic in the human realm, and maybe trying to reduce magic even in the Isles for good measure, she decided. The risk was too much, and turning in the human world… 

A shiver went down her spine, her face twisting as she thought about turning in this world. Would the elixir work here? Who would even be able to get the elixir to her in time? The rain picked up, Eda not noticing as she was caught up in her thoughts. She noticed the house approaching as she fished a key out from her hair. Camila had given her an emergency key, admittedly after Camila almost locked Eda out for the night, telling her that if she was going to be going out at random times of the night she might as well have a key. 

Opening the door she smiled at the warmth that washed over her body, already hearing the chatter from inside of the house. Luz’s excited voice, Amity’s laughter, King’s dramatic monologuing; how did these things become so quickly associated with home. She walked inside, Owlbert popping up from her hair and flying off towards the living room. 

She chuckled, walking past the kitchen she stopped, her eyes pulled over to the counter. There was a small thermos and a plate wrapped in a shiny material with a small note next to it. She walked over peeling the note of the counter and leaning up against it as she read. 

‘Eda, noticed you were still out when I left for work. It’s supposed to rain so I made you and the kids hot chocolate and some tostones. Next time take an umbrella from by the door. -Camila’ 

Eda snorted, a small laugh escaping her as her gut tingled comfortably. It had only been a few weeks, she chided herself, a few weeks and already she was getting sappy. She crunched into a tostone, letting out a satisfied hum as she walked through the kitchen. She leaned against the wall, looking into the living room, a small smile on her face. 

Luz and Amity were sitting on the floor, a large project strewn out around them; different fabrics, masks, books, all radiating outward from where the two girls were pouring over a a few pieces of paper. Owlbert perched on Luz’s head, nodding along occasionally as the girls rambled to each other. Eda noticed how they would sneak small glances at each other, each blushing before turning back to their work. 

- _You’re going soft_ \- The thought came to her, internally admitting that perhaps she was going soft. The sound of laughter made her lips quirk up, letting out a small chuckle. She stepped out, Luz looking up and smiling. 

“Eda!” Luz scrambled up, running over and giving her a hug. Eda chuckled, one hand holding the plate of food above her head as the other came down to pat Luz on the back. 

“Hey kids, what are you workin on here?” the softness in her voice surprised her. 

“Costumes!” Luz yelled excitably, grabbing some of the sheets of paper and pushing them at Eda. On them were drawn two pretty close to reality likenesses of Luz and Amity, both with outlandish outfits. Eda tilted her head and groaned as she realized where the strange sense of familiarity cam from. 

“Oh these are from that book you somehow love,” She watched as Luz and Amity’s faces both twisted, “the one with all the purple prose?” She watched as Amity reached for the book, clutching it to her chest almost protectively as she let out a laugh. 

“We will see who has flowery pose!” Luz grabbed a copy of the book, flipping it open to a random page. “And thusly did the deep golden eyes of Hecate shine like molten metal-” 

“Uuughhh,” Eda drew out the groan theatrically, “Nope I’m out, I know where this opening leads. You kids enjoy your flirting and shitty literature.” She spun on her heels as she heard sputtering behind her, cackling to herself as she snagged the thermos of hot chocolate before heading through the portal door, heading up towards her room. 

Those two, she fondly shook her head as Owlbert landed on the edge of the plate, staring hungrily at the food on it. “You don’t even need food.” Owlbert seemed to shrink under her words, Eda sighing and pushing a few of the treats towards the palisman. 

“You have gone soft Edalyn.” She chuckled, smiling as she flopped down into her nest. A few strands of yarn caught her eye, woven into the nest as an idea wormed its way into her mind. She was going to have to ask Morton for another delivery of wool treatment it seemed. She crunched on the food and took a large slurp of hot chocolate as she thought to herself - _Would Amity prefer a purple cape or blue to match Luz_?- 

—

The sudden disappearance of Eda left both Amity and Luz blushing, trying to not meet each other’s eyes. Amity noticed the soft red on Luz cheeks, the slight twitch of her lips upwards. -Was she blushing because Eda thought we were flirting?- she thought, the idea of Luz being flustered by her making her blush worsen and her ears to twitch uncontrollably. 

Turning her head away Amity had to force herself to tear her eyes away from Luz, trying desperately to find something else to focus on. A slim case caught her eyes, tilting her head as she stood up and walked over, picking up the case. A large picture of Azura was printed on the front, the title ‘Azura” Battle of Fates’ was printed on the front. 

“I didn’t think anyone else had this.” Her eyes lit up, bouncing on her heels as she spun around to face Luz, all thoughts of the previous closeness of their hands forgotten. “It never worked on any of the human devices that I found.” Luz felt herself melt at the sight of Amity excitedly geeking out over the game. 

“You have those,” Amity’s free hand flapped by her side, “DVD players you called them. I always wanted to see what this was about.” Luz laughed, Amity’s smile wavering before she raced to assure her. 

“No, no.” She leapt to her feet, bolting over as she pulled the dusty play-station 2 from the shelves, wiping it free of dust as she sat it down, kneeling over it. Amity dropped down to join her, looking quizzically at the strange device. 

“This is a video game!” Luz grinned as she pressed a small button, the top of the device opening up, causing Amity to almost loose control of the case in surprise. Luz pulled out a disk, popping it into another case as she held her hand out. 

Amity felt the immediate urge to slip her hand into Luz, before shaking herself out of her thoughts and placing the video game in her hand. She peered over Luz’s shoulder as the game was placed into the machine, Luz popping up to plug the device into the television. She turned them both on before grabbing a strange handheld object with one hand and Amity’s hand with the other, pulling her back over to the couch as she bounced with excitement. 

“You’re going to love this!” Luz smiled as she bounced in her seat, pushing the device into Amity’s hands. 

“Er, Luz?” Amity tilted her head in confusion, “What is this?” she held up the strangely shaped object, the cord attached to it shaking. 

“That’s a controller.” Luz took Amity’s hands, placing them in the correct position, her hands lingering as she felt her fingers brush over the back of Amity’s hands. The sound of the game booting up, loud and tinny from the the television, made them startle, both girls turning around to face the screen as a soft blush crept onto both of their faces. 

Amity watched as the fast paced intro played across the screen, Azura fighting through monsters before landing in a cavern. The screen paused on that screen, Azura just standing in place as she waited for something to happen. 

“You have to move, here, like this.” Luz put her hands over Amity’s moving a small stick with Amity’s thumb as Azura moved on screen. Luz took her hands off Amity’s with a small blush as Amity continued to move the character on the screen. A small prompt on screen gave her directions to press X as Amity looked down. A small blue x was on the bottom button. She pressed it. Azura on the screen jumped, Amity smiling as she tested the other buttons. 

“You’ve got it!” Luz pumped her fist, cheering her on as Amity started to get a hold of the controls. Amity smiled as she followed the prompts on screen, going through several rooms before arriving in a room with a large creature. She moved Azura forward, the character bolting towards her on screen as Amity helped. 

“Come on hit it!” Luz yelled, Amity pressing buttons wildly as a magical rocket shot out of Azura’s staff. “Yeah!” Luz’s cheer made her grin as she continued to fight, eventually winning as the screen went black. 

“That was pretty fun.” Amity put the controller down as she smiled, Luz bouncing in her seat. 

“I know! And that was only the tutorial!” 

“What’s after the tutorial?” Amity watched as the screen faded back in to a list of options and a figure next to them. 

“The best part of any game,” Luz threw an arm around Amity’s shoulder, gesturing towards the the screen, “Character creation!” Receiving a blank stare in return Luz kept going. “You can make your own character and then go to save Azura, it was one of my favorite games because I was able to be Luzura and fight monsters.” She posed dramatically on the couch, Amity’s lips quirking upwards. 

“You can make your character look like you.” Luz explained, guiding Amity through the process. The final result looked quite similar to Amity, the options for pointed ears were not something she expected the human game to have but pleasantly surprised her. She watched as the character idly shifted on the screen, Amity enjoying the way that the character looked strong, a powerful witch. 

“Now you get to choose your class.” Luz said, the screen progressing to a set of options. 

“What is class?” 

“It’s kind of like the covens, you pick a type of magic that you do in the game, but its just how it starts you can always change it later.” Luz explained, “Ohhh, summoners are kind of like abominations.” Amity went over to the summoner class, a looming shadow creature appearing behind the character. 

Choice. The word bounced around her head, chewing on her lip. Abominations was never really her choice was it, she loved it, feeling the abomination take form under her control, the preciseness of it. But it never came easily; not like Plant magic did to Willow, or Illusions to Gus. 

She noticed the other titles on the top of the screen, the choices making her frown slightly. Her fingers hovered around the confirm button, scattered ideas bouncing around her head. Should she try something else, stick with the same thing. She took a deep breath and held the joystick side ways, hitting the confirm button randomly. 

Healer. 

She felt a bit of confidence spark in her gut, she made a choice, something that she did for herself. A small part of her reveled in the idea of it. Her character on the screen was in robes, a staff that emanated soft glowing light. She imagined herself in the blue of the healing track, a small smile on her face. 

“Alright lets play.” Luz cheered as she started to play, a slow grin curling across Amity’s face. 

—

An awkward cough came from the intercom, Camila looking up from the vending machine with a sigh. Of all the days to forget to pack lunch it had to be when she was pushed into pulling a double. At least there was not long left after this break, she just had to make it through the next few hours. The loud growling of her stomach made her inwardly doubt the possibility of that as she fished in her pocket for a a few quarters. 

“Uh- Camila Noceda to front desk please.” The voice was hesitant, a long pause filling the air as the system still cracked. “Please?” The last word was spoken in almost a pleading tone, a growing feeling of anxiety pooling in her gut. 

She smiled awkwardly at the rest of the people in the break room, slipping out the door as she walked towards reception. She rolled her shoulders, letting out a hum at the stiffness. She pushed through the door to the reception, a question half our of her mouth before the words died on her tongue. 

Sitting on the reception desk, surrounded by two patients and a receptionist, sat Owlbert; he fluffed up his feathers, a small brown bag in his beak. - _Oh no._ \- 

“Is, uh, this your owl?” Camila closed her eyes as she let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she muttered to herself. As if to rub it in even further Owlbert let out a soft hoot, half muffled by the lunch bag, flying over to land on Camila’s shoulder. He shuffled over to press into her neck and cheek as Camila tried to smile, resulting in a half pained grimace. 

Soft giggles came from the waiting patients, Camila trying to ignore them as she reached up and took the lunch bag, giving Owlbert a small scratch as he hooted in pride. “How did you get in here buddy?” she mumbled. 

“He uh,” the receptionist said, Camila noting that he was one of the newer hires, “he waited by the door till someone came in.” Camila’s eyes softened, turning to Owlbert with a small smile. 

“You know Eda could have came in herself.” She said, pausing for a moment as she thought about the possibility of Eda coming into the hospital, the near 7 foot tall eccentric woman in a medical environment. An unconscious shiver ran down her spine, grimacing as she idly scratched Owlbert on the head. “On second thought, thank you for delivering this yourself.” 

“We- uh.” the receptionist floundered over his words, unconsciously messing with the name tag on his shirt. Camila noticed that Owlbert’s eyes kept darting towards the badge as it caught the sun streaming in through the window, noticing that the name Ryan was printed on the badge. 

“We unfortunately do not allow pets?” Ryan said, clearing his throat as the statement came out more as a question. Camila chuckled a the awkwardness, turning to Owlbert.

“You heard the poor man Owlbert.” She gave him one last pat on the head as he settled down further into her shoulder, tiling his head. “No you can’t stay.” Camila continued, rolling her eyes, an almost sad hoot answering her. 

“I will be out in only a couple of hours, I am sure you and Eda can wait till then.” Owlbert gave a small hoot, hopping off of her shoulder as he flew over to the door, landing in front of it. Camila watched as he looked up at the door, fluffing up his feathers, seeming to be affronted that the door wouldn’t open for him, and turning to look back at the group over by the reception desk. 

Camila peered into the bag that Owlbert brought, trying to stifle laughter as Ryan awkwardly stood up and walked over to the door, the sensor activating as the doors slid open. Owlbert gave a small hoot as he waddled out of the door. Camila barely kept the laughter from bursting out of her as she pulled out a small box of juice, walking back towards the break room. 

She took a sip of the juice, the sharp flavor hitting her tongue and making her hum in enjoyment. It was very sweet of Eda to realize that she had forgotten her lunch, and even if her methods were admittedly strange; the woman had sent in an owl carrying food from another dimension after all, the gesture was sweet. 

The next two hours seemed to fly by, Camila swearing that she could sometimes catch a glimpse of Owlbert sitting on the windowsill. She tapped her pen on her clipboard as she filled out the last few notes for the next shift. Magic was real, the thought seeped into her mind as she looked over her notes. Broken bones, sickness, even down to scrapes and burns; could magic fix all of this? 

Did the boiling isles have the same issues as here? She pondered, distractedly clocking out and walking out to the parking lot. Sitting on a bench, with a set of cards laid out in front of her, was Eda. She seemed to be playing some sort of game against Owlbert, the small owl now with a visor on and clutching a few cards in his claw. 

“I swear somehow you are still cheating.” Eda grumbled, a few glow sticks in front of her in comparison to the large pile in front of Owlbert, towering over the small owl. Camila could make out more arguing as she drew closer, Eda narrowing her eyes and leaning down, staring directly into the eyes of Owlbert, both of them locked into a staring contest. 

“Having fun?” she said, startling Eda as she swept the entire deck of cards and the small loot into her hair, Owlbert’s head poking out from behind her ear. 

“Hey Cami, how are you? How was work?” Eda tried to act casually as she leaned back on the bench. A glow stick popped out of her hair, Eda catching it and deftly tossing it back into her hair. 

A snort came out of her mouth before she could contain it, Camila covering her mouth as a grin peeked out behind her hand. “Not as exciting as your high stakes game of cards I am sure.” 

“True.” Eda nodded, hopping off of the bench as Camila was reminded of how tall Eda was. “But that is just because Owlbert is a terrible cheater.” She said as she leaned sideways, whispering loudly. A disgruntled hoot came from her hair, Eda rolling her eyes as Camila let out a laugh. She watched Eda squabble with Owlbert as they walked towards her car, a soft smile on her face. 

Popping the car door open she slipped in, watching as Eda narrowed her eyes at the car. Camila reached across, opening the door as she gestured for Eda to climb in. The witch slowly climbed in, folding her legs as she sat in the seat, almost folded up. Her lanky body barely fit the space in the front seat, Camila laughing as she leaned over, freeing the seat as it slid back. 

Eda let out a yelp of surprise as she slid back, clutching the seat as her eyes flared in alarm. “Oh dear,” Camila reached out, gently putting a hand on Eda’s shoulder, “I should have warned you about that.” She gave a small chuckle. 

Any words died on Eda’s lips as she caught sight of the mischievous grin on Camila’s face, her eyes shining with mirth. “Not even going to give me a heads up, not even for the first time I have been in…” she looked around for a moment, “This is a car right?” 

“It is.” Camila’s grin grew wider as she tapped her finger on her chin in thought. “Then how did you get here hmm? A little bit too far to walk by yourself.” 

“Oh Luz showed me how to use this thing called the google. It told me to take a bus here so I did. Strange bus though, not even the courtesy to wave goodbye.” Eda said, Camila trying to keep from laughing as her lips twitched. 

“How did you get the couple dollars in bus fare?” 

“What’s a dollar?” Eda tilted her head quizzically. Camila burst out in laugher, squeezing her eyes shut as tears of laughter leaked out the side, Eda unable to resist a warm smile as her stomach flipped with nerves. She found her laugh infectious, letting out a soft scratchy laugh. 

As the laughter died out Camila wiped the corners of her eyes, clearing the tears as she pushed her glasses up and sighed. She cleaned her glasses with the edge of her scrubs, squinting a bit to try to make out the shapes around her as she cleaned them. Her mind was pulled to the glyph that she had seen in her glasses, turning them around in her hand as she squinted at them. 

“What is healing like in the Isles?” she asked, half absentmindedly, still turning the glasses over in her hands. 

“The healing track you mean?” Eda adjusted in her seat, her limbs still awkwardly cramped in the confines of the car. “It wasn’t my speed, but it’s useful, especially when you get as many scrapes and bruises as I do.” Eda chuckled, watching the side of Camila’s lips twitch upwards. 

“What do you want to know about it?” Eda asked. 

“Can they heal wounds? Is there sickness?” Camila slipped on her glasses, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel. “Can magic heal the things that plague us here?” 

Eda blinked, letting her head fall back against the headrest as she exhaled sharply. “Maybe?” She said with a shrug. “I mean we can heal just about anything; magic drain, scrapes, minor curses, heck even Amity had a healers cast for her leg for a week or two.” 

“What happened to her leg?”

“She dived in front of Luz to take a hit in grudgby.” Eda chuckled, a fond smile on her face, “Kid really cares about Luz, busted up her leg pretty bad but nothing that a bit of rest and a healer can’t fix.” 

“A couple weeks…” That was less than half of the time needed for an injury like that to heal in this world. What else could magic do? Is this what Luz felt, the excitement for something so strange and new? 

“Show me.” Eda turned, tilting her head as Owlbert stuck his head out of the mess of Eda’s hair. 

“What do you mean?” Eda asked. 

“I want to see the Isles.” Camila started, turning in her seat to look at Eda. “Luz cares about it there, and cares about you. She told me how you taught her magic, how you helped her even with school in this realm. I want to see what she saw, I want to visit the Isles.” Her lips twitched up into a full smile, “More than just your house that is. And learning healing magic would be a plus too.” 

Eda nodded, not trusting her words as she internally ran through the possibilities. Camila wanted to know more about the Isles, she could learn more about her own life and they could even grow closer. She shook her head, Owlbert hooting as he was jostled, “Yeah, yeah of course.” She smiled as Camila let out a sigh of relief. 

She put a strange metal object into a slot in the car, turning it as the car rumbled beneath her. Eda jumped slightly, her legs folding up as she perched on the seat with a hiss. Camila laughed, the sides of her mouth sore. The more time around Eda she spent the more she found herself smiling uncontrollably, the witch was wild, free spirited, but at the same time. She looked out of the corner of her eye, Eda leaning back as glow sticks, and Owlbert, randomly poked out of her hair. 

Eda barely caught a glimpse of Camila looking at her from the corner of her eye, a slight blush on her face, turning to look out of the glass as the car started to move. She could show Camila the Isles, how magic worked, maybe even manage to get her to Hexside. Bump owed her one for handling the latest ghast infection the other week anyway. 

The thought made her mind grind to a halt. Ghast infections, boiling rain, a slither beast with a grudge; and that was only in the past few days. She looked at Camila, the woman softly humming as she drove, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. What had it been like when Luz had first experienced the isles, with the vast amount of close calls; a run in with a puppet demon, being banned from school, being chased by the emperors’s coven and breaking into jail. And that was only the first week. 

This was not going to go good was it? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for reading!!! one of these days I really have to write deleted scenes for this fic and Eda discovers the joys of the public transportation system is one of those now.   
> I hope you all enjoyed, and consider if you enjoy TOH and community, come join a wonderful discord server! The good witch society is full of other amazing writers and artists and fans! https://discord.gg/hSuCG86ay9  
> have an amazing week everyone!!!!!


	15. First Impressions are Important, but Second Ones Even More So.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eda takes Camila on a tour of a familiar place in order to learn about healing magic and they run into an unexpected friend.
> 
> Amity acts on a question she was asked and finds out something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was a bit late, but oh boy did this one take off!! I have a lot planned, and the next 9 chapters will be absolutely a joy to write  
> Hope you all enjoy!

Eda grumbled, walking through the kitchen as she pulled over a mug, the scraping of ceramic on the wood of the counter causing her ears to flick. She pulled out a carton from the fridge, giving it a sniff before shrugging, drinking right from the open spout. She gave a large yawn, smacking her lips before picking her teeth with a long pointed claw. 

The patter of tiny feet made her wordlessly hand off the carton to King, the tiny demon wordlessly taking a swig. They grumbled in greeting, Eda stretching, popping her joins as she tried to reach an itch on the small of her back. She muttered to herself, popping her hand off at her wrist and placing it on her shoulder, the hand crawling down her back and reaching the itch as she sighed in relief. 

A commotion outside made her groggily walk towards the door, not bothering to open it she kicked at the wood, the door swinging open. She narrowly sidestepped an Emperor’s coven guard as they went flying past her into the living room. “Keep it out of the house Hooty!” She shook her one free fist, a distant apology accompanying the muffled sounds of thumps and screams. 

The guard groggily stood up, wobbling on their feet in the living room. Eda sighed, screwing back in her hand before going over, grabbing them by their cloak and tossing them unceremoniously out of the house. She slammed the door shut, grumbling under her breath, “Can’t even let a witch have a morning in piece.” 

She squinted at the door, a piece of paper stuck to it, pulling it off she read the note, taking a long moment to let the information sink in. She coughed in surprise, turning around and throwing open the door again. 

“Hooty!” She kicked another guard that was sailing in the air, stomping them down into the dirt. Hooty popped out of the ground in an eruption of soil. 

“Youuuu caallled?” Hooty had a guard wrapped in his coils, Eda looking down more at the note than at Hooty. 

“Yeah I need you to keep the coven or any other guests away from the house today.” Eda looked up, noticing a few emperors coven creeping around the outside of the yard. “You know?” A slow grin crept across her face, “I think it has been awhile since you had a tea party with some new friends. Why don’t you do that today huh?” 

“Oh boy! We are going to have so much fun!” Hooty said, a distant scream in the background. Eda watched as the coven guard in front of the door was slowly dragged away, vainly trying to grab the dirt as the door slowly closed in their face. An unconscious shiver went down her spine, turning away from the door to see King standing in the hallway. 

“You just doomed them to a fate worse than death.” He said, Eda nodding solemnly. King cackled, turning away to go back into the kitchen, holding the carton with both hands. 

Eda sighed, dragging her hand down her face. -Why today of all days?- She looked back at the note, the message on it reminding her that Camila was going to be visiting the Isles today. She chewed on her lip, looking around the room. No weapons were displayed, well prominently displayed anyway, and the more dangerous objects were stowed away. 

Looking over at one of her closets, the wood straining a bit to hold back the vast amount of weaponry that she had stuffed in there the night before, hoping to make a good impression. How so many swords could get accumulated in one house she had no idea, but she mentally made a note to clean out the sword closet after Camila left. 

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, ruffling her hair, picking a spare few snails out of the strands of grey hair, flicking them into a spare plate off to the side. “You got this.” She muttered, pointing finger guns at her reflection. 

“Camila is going to come over today huh.” King’s voice interrupted her again, the small demon looking far to pleased with himself, catching Eda mid finger gun.

“What’s it to you Mr. Wiggles?” Eda said, King’s eyes only growing more smug. 

“50 snails or I tell.” King demanded, his paws out and making grabbing motions. Eda’s face twisted into a disgruntled expression.

“30 and not a snail more.” 

“45 and hair rides for a month.”

“40 and two weeks, final offer.”

“Deal.” King cackled as he caught the snails thrown in his direction, running off triumphantly. “Just remember,” he peeked his head around the corner, “You taught me everything I know.” Eda tossed a spare snail after him, King catching it and scrambling up the stairs, the sound of his mocking laughter making Eda roll her eyes fondly. 

“Adorable monster.” Eda grumbled, trying to smooth out her hair. It had been so long since she felt like this, almost 10 years since her last fleeting romance; Eda smiled fondly as she looked up to the deep scorch mark on the ceiling. That had been a wild night, a traditional romance, plenty of fire and sword-fighting. It was a shame that he couldn’t keep up with her life style. 

Eda ran her fingers down the worn wood lining of the mirror, feeling the scratches and tears in the wood where claws had scored it. The frantic cleaning had made it clear to her that it had been a long time since she had anyone over that was not just King. She felt the doubt start to creep into her mind; would Camila be okay with her curse? Would they even get to that point? 

She pushed the thoughts out of her mind; no time to think about that. A chime from her phone made her smile, walking over to see the excitable message that Luz sent, an absurd amount of what she called emojis attached to it. A grin stretched across her face, chuckling to herself. -That was just like Luz- 

She pulled out the key, clicking it idly as she turned, already smoothening out her dress as the door unfolded in the hallway. Eda turned in time for a blur to rocket through the door, Luz launching into a hug as Eda grinned wildly, ruffling her hair. 

“Alright, alright kiddo.” She pushed Luz away, fighting and failing to hide her pleased expression. “How are you this happy to see me kiddo I came over for dinner just two days ago.” She smiled widely at Amity and Camila as they came through the door. Amity was wearing a black dress with a pair of jeans, clutching a few books to her chest as her ears relaxed, looking around the house fondly. Camila was wearing a comfortable pair of slacks and a loose sweater, her hair pulled up into her usual bun.

“I bet its the magic huh? Can’t wait to practice more, trying to take my place as the strongest witch on the Isles are ya?” She let her hand linger on Luz head for a moment, the corner of her lip twitching up in laughter. 

“Sure,” Luz slid out from under her hand, her eyes shining with the ever present enthusiasm that Eda had come to associate her with, “But I also like spending time with you and King.” 

“Ha, well kiddo your friends should be coming by any moment, and King is in the kitchen. Don’t clean me out of everything in there but I should have enough for snacks.” Luz bounced on her feet excitedly, grabbing Amity’s arm and pulling her towards the kitchen as Amity blushed. 

“Thanks mom!” Luz yelled over her shoulder, making Eda freeze. A smile crept over her face, feeling her ears give a small twitch. She chucked to herself, looking over to meet the smiling face of Camila. 

“Oh, ah- well-” Eda found herself fumbling for words as she gave a confused half grin.

A presence by her side, a light touch on her arm. “She is so genuine isn’t she?” Eda nodded wordlessly, the sound of Camila’s laughter startling her out of her thoughts. She smiled, feeling remarkably bashful for a moment as she rubbed the back of her neck. 

“Don’t get a lot of opportunity for apprentices when you are me.” She chuckled, “I mean they all wish that they could be taught by the strongest witch in the whole Isles.” She tried to keep up her confident façade, the slight grin on Camila’s face making her smile to herself in success. 

The dark lonely days of the tower and the empty Owl House, of endless games with Owlbert and King, all three of them falling into the same slow spiral as they clung harder to each other. “She brought something here when she came to the Isles.” She said softly. 

“She has a way of doing that.” Camila said looping her arm around Eda’s and leading her through the hall. Eda flushed, her height meaning that Camila had looped her arm around her forearm, her shoulder settling nicely into the crook of Eda’s elbow. 

“Gus! Willow!” Luz voice came from the living room, Camila walking in to see Luz with her arms around two young witches, recognizing them from their pictures and the brief moment that she had seen them show up at her house before. Luz spun them around, eventually letting go of them to let Amity get a small wave in. 

The two looked at each other before scooping Amity into a hug, the witch’s face flushing slightly as she seemed to vibrate from all the affection, a smile on her face as she laughed in their grip, slightly lifted off the ground. 

Pulling the two over Luz held out her hands to present them. “Mom! This is Willow,” the girl in the glasses giving a small wave, “And this is Gus.” The young boy stepped forward, holding his hand out for a handshake, his posture stiff. 

Camila smiled at them as she shook Gus’s hand. “Luz has told me a lot about you but it is so nice to meet you finally.” Gus enthusiastically shook her hand, bouncing on his heels in excitement. 

“A real human handshake!” He clutched his wrist in awe as Camila blinked confusedly. 

“Thank you Mrs. Noceda.” Willow stepped in, Camila laughing softly. 

“Please, it’s just Camila. Any friends of Luz are family.” Luz nodded, looping an arm though both of their arms, pulling them over to the couch as Amity flashed Camila and Eda a grateful smile. 

The two older witches watched as paper and notebooks were pulled out of bags, towering piles of material as Luz pulled Amity down to sit right next to her. The four of them hunched over papers as Eda gave Camila a slight tug on her sleeve, gesturing with her head toward the door. 

They silently walked out, Eda raising her hand before they left as Owlbert’s staff leapt into it. Camila watched as Owlbert opened his eyes, his talons clutching onto the top of the staff as he gave a soft hoot. The door closed behind them, Camila looking around, searching for some sign of a vehicle. 

“How are we getting into town?” she said, Eda grinning wildly. She took a couple steps back, Owlbert swiveling as he turned into part of the staff, flaring out his wings. Eda hooped onto the staff as it started to take off from the ground.

“Let me show you how witches get around.” Eda held her hand out, Camila tugging at the sleeves of her sweater. Owlbert’s wings were unfurled, Eda sitting sideways on the staff, hovering a few feet above the ground. “Come on don’t you trust me?” 

“I trust Owlbert.” Camila shot back, Eda dramatically clutching her chest. Camila’s lips turned up, taking Eda’s hand as she climbed on behind her. “But he seems to trust you, so I have to give you some credit.” Eda smiled gently, turning and giving Owlbert a nod. 

The staff lifted from the ground, Camila instinctively wrapping her arms around Eda, pulling the witch close to her as Owlbert took them higher. “Easy there Cami.” Eda chuckled, her breath almost pushed out of her from the force of her grip. “It’s just a little flying, you got this.”

Opening her eyes slowly Camila felt her jaw drop. They were soaring over a forest, the light shining over the red tree tops. She felt herself lean slightly to the side, trying to see everything that she could as her grip eased up slightly. In the distance, large towering ivory arches speckled with trees. 

“Are- are those bones?” Camila watched as a large skull appeared over the horizon, “What in the world is that?” she resumed her tight grip, watching as the skyline expanded below her, the forest opening up in the distance to give sight to a large town. 

“That is the Titan,” Eda explained, squirming in her grip to half turn to face Camila, “The whole Isles is built on their bones.” She pointed from the broom, running through the different landmarks. “There is the knee,” she pointed at a snowy mountain peak, “Luz learned her second spell there, not a bad place for a vacation too.”

Camila smiled softly, the conversation helping her relax, looking down to see Owlbert’s concerned eyes on her. The Owl blinked before turning forward again, Camila noticing that the broom slowed down ever so slightly to help her adjust to the speed. She patted the broom, listening as Eda explained how when she was younger she took a walking tour around the isles. 

“Is that how you found Owlbert, traveling around the Isle?” she asked, Eda smiling fondly. 

“Find?” She chuckled, “I made Owlbert.” Camila blinked in surprise, Eda continuing to explain. “When a witch graduates into a coven, or in my case, runs away from home, they go find a a tree.” She slipped into an explanatory mode, Camila smiling as she imagined Eda explaining all of this to Luz. 

- _She would probably be taking notes and doodling ideas for her own familiar-_

“Once you have the right wood that just,” Eda continued, waving one of her hands in the air, making a vague confused gesture, “feels right. You spend some time carving out a palisman and a staff.” She patted Owlbert, “Owlbert here has been with me since the the start of my journey, taught him everything I know.” 

The look on Eda’s face made Camila’s heart melt; the normally awkward and gruff woman softening for a moment as she talked about her palisman. This, this was the woman who took care of her Luz, a woman who she was gradually starting to see more and more each time they interacted. 

“Why Owls?” Camila let her arms fall, Eda considering asking Owlbert to speed up for only a moment. “And you can’t tell me that it was just with this cutie,” She patted Owlbert. “You introduced yourself as the Owl Lady. And then there is the matter of, well, Hooty.” 

Wings. Feathers. The ripping of claws along the wall and a panicked cry. A shadow in the doorway. 

“Heh.” Eda chuckled, shaking off her thoughts. “Alright I may just think Owls are pretty cool.” Camila raised one eye, Eda snorting. “What? It’s true. Owls are fast, good hunters, wise, and they don’t look half bad if I do say so myself.” Eda pushed up her hair, striking a ridiculous pose, Camila giggling at her antics. 

“And my whole family had a bird theme going on.” Eda added, chuckling to herself. “My sister has ravens, my parents had falcons, I think I have an cousin somewhere who was big on crows.” Eda winked conspiratorially, “If you ask me I got lucky with the owls.” 

“You have a sister?” Camila asked, Eda snapping her mouth shut before sighing. 

“Yeah, Lily.” Eda gave a small smile before her face fell again. “We were as close as anything else, Eda and Lily, ready to graduate Hexside and take on the world.” She gave a bitter laugh. “But that was years ago, and we are different now.” Camila reached out her hand, placing it gently on Eda’s shoulder. The warm of her hand encouraged Eda to continue, “She joined up with the Emperor, and has been after me ever since.” 

“I’m-” Camila started, the mood twisting into something strange and sombre. 

“Either way enough about that,” Eda interrupted as she tried to move the conversation along, not wanting to touch upon why exactly her and her sister clashed so often. “We are almost there.” Camila looked up, taken aback by the sight. The town spread out below them, twisting streets and crooked buildings scaffolded onto bones that stretched into the air. 

There seemed to be no proper layout to the town, towering multiple story houses pressed in between one story small houses. Small tents and stalls were wedged in the corners, random splashes of color amongst the houses. A few other witches soared on staffs nearby them, some other creatures flying under their own power on wings, a wide variety of beings milling in the streets below. Off to the side were large towering mansions set against the tree line, scattered on hilltops.

In the center of the town was a sprawling campus, reminding Camila of her old university, small buildings dotted around one massive multi-floor structure. A griffin flew past them, carrying a girl on their back as they let out a squawk, spiders streaming past Camila. She saw a few students practicing spells on the ground below, their hands spinning around orbs or plants rising from the ground.

It wasn’t until Eda shook her shoulder that she realized that she was standing on solid ground again, her lip bleeding slightly from where she was chewing on it. Everything- every single thing that Luz had told her. The spider griffins, the magic… 

A distant explosion sounded from the other side of the campus, Camila whirling her head towards it as she saw the bright glow of magic come from that direction. 

The danger. 

“A bit more real now than just my humble little place.” Eda said, smiling gently as she tried to calm down Camila, gently taking her chin in her hands as they made eye contact. “This,” Eda smiled, drawing a small spell circle as Camila felt the cut on her lip close, “Is Hexside school for witchcraft and demonics.” Eda’s grin was dazzling, Camila’s eyes drawn to the gold fang, her pointed ears, the gem on her chest that seemed to be changing colors slightly during the day. 

“My old stomping grounds, and now,” Eda slung an arm around Camila’s shoulder, “Luz’s school.” She winked, taking Camila’s arm again, noticing the shock on her face. Seeing everything for the first time, no matter how ready she thought she was with watching Eda and Luz do magic, could do little to compare to the real thing. 

“Let me give you a tour.” 

—

Luz and Gus rambled about the intricacies of Illusion magic, Gus showing Luz small variations of spells as they tried to find the minor bits of glyphs, Luz’s phone taking rapid pictures as Gus traced the spell circle slowly. Amity watched out of the corner of her eye Luz drew a glyph, taping it as blue light washed over her. When it faded her hair was a bright neon blue, Luz letting out a cheer in victory, bumping into Amity as the witch flushed. 

She tried to focus on the extra abomination notes that Willow had managed to get her and not on how close Luz was to her. Unable to resist, she watched as Luz ran over to the mirror to check her hair. She tried to focus on her work, the equations and ratios of the Abomination mixtures making her frown. 

Her leg bounced, more interested in the illusions in front of her. She knew the glyph that Luz found could change her hair color or small thing, but this magic was stronger and lasted longer than the potion based one that Luz had found for her. 

- _What would you choose?_ \- the question echoed in her mind as she set aside her abomination homework, getting up from the couch and walking over to where Luz and Gus were now excitedly rambling over a notebook that Gus was showing Luz. She cleared her throat softly, both of them looking up at her. 

“Could ah- Could you show me how to do that?” she said, turning to where Willow was reading a thick book of plants that she had found on Eda’s shelf. “You too, could you show me how to do your tracks magic?” Silence filled the room at her question before Luz shot up with a smile. 

“You want to learn the different tracks too?” She asked with a wide grin, grabbing onto Amity’s hands. 

“I-” Amity’s lips quirked up, “Maybe not all of them, but, your mom told me something.” Amity scuffed her feet on the carpet, looking at each one of her friends before taking a deep breath. 

“She- she asked me what I would choose, if I had the choice.” Amity looked down, smiling sadly. “I, haven’t been given many choices, and when I did I usually made the wrong ones.” She looked at Willow, the witch giving her a small smile and nod of encouragement. 

“So I want to at least try.” She finished with a nod, Luz eyes sparkling as she pulled Amity into a hug, spinning her around. 

“Which ones do you want to try?” Luz was bouncing on her feet with excitement. 

“I thought, maybe Plants, Illusions, and Potions?” Amity shrugged, “I know that is what you two are doing and Eda knows a lot of potions, I thought maybe she could help. A couple others sound interesting at least.” 

“Yes!” Luz scooped her up in a hug, twirling around before she let go of her. “I have to go find Eda’s potion books!” she yelled, taking off into the house. Amity stood there still as she blushed to the tips of her ears. 

“I see Luz’s charm hasn’t worn out.” Willow said, Amity jumping slightly as she blushed, grumbling in embarrassment. 

“Hey Ami,” Willow patted her on the arm, “I’m really happy that you are trying this out.” She smiled, “I know that things at home were not always, great, but you have us.” Amity’s finger tapped out a rapid beat on her leg as the words made her shake with happiness. 

“Thanks Willow, and, you know, if there is anyone who I would want to help me with plant magic it is the strongest plant witch at the school.” Amity said, Willow blushing before smiling widely. 

“And the strongest illusions witch too,” Amity turned to Gus, “My siblings may be good, but there are two of them, and you are already approaching their level.”

“Aw shucks,” Gus said, “I will totally help where I can.”

“Do you want to try a spell now?” Willow said before her voice slipped into a teasing tone, “You can make a flower for Luz before she comes back.” Amity blushed, looking around before nodding shyly. 

“Great!” Willow said, the two of them moving to stand over by the sofa. Willow pressed a seed into Amity’s hand, Amity instinctively starting to rub her thumb over it, the motion soothing. “Now all you have to do is try to feel the seedling inside.”

Amity focused, closing her eyes as she felt something, a small light that felt like it was buried underneath several layers of blankets. She nodded, Willow smiling, her plant easily growing from the seed. 

“Now just focus on what you want it to become.” Amity pictured a small daisy flower, bright and cheery, just like her Luz. 

“And push power into it.” Amity let trickles of power flow through her into the seed, letting out a deep breath. The image solidified in her head as she felt the seed taking form. 

“Hey Ami!” Luz’s voice came from over her shoulder, her focus shattered as the energy tried to go somewhere, the seed falling from her grip. It hit the ground, a vine shooting out of it and hitting the couch, Luz perched on top of it. 

Both of them went down, The couch upending and spilling Luz out as Amity put her hands over her mouth. 

“Oh titan are you okay Luz?” Amity ran over, darting around the toppled over couch. She hovered over Luz, the girl groaning as she propped herself up. “I am so sorry I just, lost control of the spell I never should have-” Amity was halted by a finger on her lips, Luz having placed hers there as she gave a shy grin. Amity’s ears instantly flushed red as they twitched, her fingers flexing as she felt a tingle go through her body. 

“It’s okay Ami, mistakes happen, just like with the Slither-beast, we fight them off as a team.” Luz posted dramatically before wincing, a large scrape on the back of her hand. She saw the corners of Amity’s lips quirk up as she posted dramatically, her scraped hand against her head. 

“Alas, the great Luzura falls.” She cried dramatically, trying to grab a reaction from Amity. “What will her brave allies do.” She winked, Amity giggling. 

“You dork,” She sat down next to Luz, bumping her with her shoulder. 

“Your words wound me. Me? A dork?” Luz tried to keep a straight face, failing as she giggled, leaning against the tipped over couch. Amity giggled along with her, Willow peering over the couch as she rolled her eyes fondly. 

“As the great healer Hecamity, I shall cure your wounds.” Amity joked back, recalling the late night the two had yesterday huddled in front of the T.V as Amity made more progress on her healer character. She remembered the rush she felt as was able to last minute heal her companions, Luz cheering as they managed to clear the first arc of the game. 

That same excitement, that urge to make everything better welled in her as she took Luz’s hand, tilting her head. The scrape wasn’t a large one, and she could see where… 

She drew a spell circle, half out of it as she focused on the small wound, remembering the basic spells that she was taught as a kid. How to close a small cut, something that she had almost forgotten as her parent’s drilled Abomination ratios into her head. A small blue glow came from her hand as she drew a small spell circle with her finger. 

The scrape rapidly healed over, fresh skin leaving no trace that any cut was there in the first place. Luz flexed her fingers; no scaring, nothing that would have suggested that she was injured by her topple. She looked up, Amity’s eyes briefly glowing a dark blue before she blinked. 

“Did it work?” She asked, looking up at the rest of the group, her smile faltering as she saw the shocked looks in her friends faces. 

“Oh goodness, I thought I had it right I’m so sorry.” Amity started rambling, the stares from her friends making her squirm, “I learned that long ago from Emira when we were kids and…” she trailed off. 

“No, no.” Luz darted forward, grabbing onto one of Amity’s hands. “I just, your eyes were glowing.” 

Amity blinked, “They were?” 

“Yeah.” Willow sat down with them, Gus dropping down as well. “It was like when I use a lot of plant magic at once and pull from the plants themselves.” Gus nodded. 

“Really?” The others nodded their heads, Amity looking down at her hands. It had felt easy when she cast the spell, but it always had. Emira told her that she had gotten the spell slowly, just like all the other spells that took her forever to learn. That she might have some sort of gift, something hers, that she could decide to pursue. 

“We should practice!” Luz said, “I have my notes from the basic healing glass we can start there!” 

The voices of her parents echoed in the back of her mind, how Blights did not associate with the common healers in the Isles, and only talked to them when necessary. But there was also Camila, and Luz had described her job as a healer. 

Amity chewed on one lip gently. -It couldn’t hurt to try right?- 

“Well…” Amity started, Luz tapping her knee with her fingers excitedly. “It couldn’t hurt to try right?” 

—

“This is Luz school?” Camila turned as she walked, trying to take in everything that she could as Eda led her towards the side of the school grounds. The grass was same shade of bright red that the trees were, a bright color that made everything different stand out in stark relief. 

“Yup,” Eda grinned, “Took a whole lot of effort getting her in here too, good ol Bump was not the happiest with me.” She pulled them over to a small section of the wall, giving it a couple of knocks. Her face scrunched up in displeasure, moving a couple of a steps at a time as she knocked at each stop. “I was something of a legend back in my days of school.” 

“Oh I can only imagine.” Camila said, watching as Eda hit the wall again, a strange hollow sound coming from it. 

“Ah there we are.” Eda rummaged around her hair, throwing out a couple of magazines and a box of juice before she extracted a piece of brightly colored yellow chalk, turning to Camila with a smile. “Bit rusty since it have been about twenty years since I have done this, let me see if I still got it.” 

- _Twenty years._ \- Camila thought, watching Eda start to draw a door on the wall, - _That would make her just a couple of years younger than me._ \- With her grey hair and the worn lines on her face Camila had thought that the other way was true. 

“Aha!” Eda let out a cry of triumph. “This witch has still got it.” In front of her was an open doorway into the school, opening into what seemed to be a small dimly lit hallway. There were small flickering lights in the hallway, revealing a few tilted pictures, most of them seeming to be covered with dust. 

“I know it’s not much,” Eda leaned over Camila’s shoulder, wincing a bit at the state of disrepair, “but for years, this was home away from home.” Camila looked at the expression on Eda’s face, one of nostalgia tinted with a hint of sadness. She took a step into the hallway, Eda following her. 

“It looks like no one has used this one in a while.” Camila ran a finger over one of the dusty photos, revealing a brief glimpse of two girls standing next to each other. She pulled the photo off of the wall, wiping the dust away with the hem of her shirt. 

“Yeah no one must have discovered this exit.” Eda poked fondly at the old graffiti on the wall, noticing how it all seemed to cluster here. “You must have ran away when I had to clean up your sisters huh?” she cooed to the writing, the words seeming to spread out around the hall at her words. She laughed, resting a hand on the walls with a smile, “Alright, stay out of sight of Bump you rascals.” The words fled through the doorway, a grin curling on Eda’s face. 

She turned, noticing Camila staring down at a photo, a soft smile on her face. Eda walked over, looking over her shoulder to see the hastily cleaned photo. It was of her and Lilith, posing dramatically in front of the Grudby display case, both of them with their sports jackets on. Lilith had her wild red hair pulled into a bun, Eda with her orange hair cascading down her back; both of them in their uniforms. 

“We had just won the championship for the third year in the row.” Eda said, Camila startling and turning towards her, a hand over her heart. “Heh, sorry Cami.” She reached out her hand, Camila handing her the photo. “Lilith was so happy that day, she finally got named Captain that season, and led us to victory.” Eda let out a rueful laugh, “I gave her so much shit for it.”

“It sounds like the two of you were close.” Camila rested a hand on Eda’s upper arm. Not missing the momentary flash of pain that lanced through Eda’s eyes. 

“We were inseparable.” She sighed, shaking her head as she slipped the photo into her hair. “People change sometimes, and it is not always the best.” Camila patted her on the arm as she gave a nod.

“But,” Eda pulled away gently, “Enough about my past, we are here for the magic aren’t we.” She walked to the end of the hallway, throwing open the door. Behind it was a circular room, Camila catching a glimpse of several other doorways leading off from it. 

Stepping through the door she turned around, slowly spinning in a circle as she took in the room. Every inch of the room was covered in doorways, save for one blank area where a picture hung. Some of the doorways had tiny pieces of paper stuck to them, large labels of room numbers and locations. “What is this place?” She asked, awe in her voice. 

“This was my home away from home, my hideaway.” She preened, setting her hands on her hips as she looked around proudly. “And also the network of shortcuts that goes to every single room in the entire school.” She added. A small narrow stone staircase wound around the room, passing by doors as it snaked back and forth around itself. 

Camila slowly walked through, spinning around as she saw the arching ceiling. She made her way over to where the only clear space in the room was, a heavily obscured painting hanging in a place of honor. Various names were spray painted onto the wall around it, Camila reading each one; Viney, Emira, Jerbo, Edric, and a paw print stood out above the rest of the spray painted names, all of them surrounding a bright orange tag. 

As Eda joined her at the photo the orange lettering and paint that obscured the photo cleared, showing a large portrait of a young Eda, her arms crossed as the words revealed themselves. Camila snorted, Eda rolling her eyes fondly. 

“Really Eda?” Camila said in between laughter, Eda blushing softly in embarrassment. “Lord Calamity?” 

Eda chuckled, looking fondly at the photo. “What? You never had a title before?” She copied the pose from the picture, “Edalyn, Lord Calamity, strongest witch on the Boiling Isles.” A laugh was drawn out from Camila, the woman’s eyes crinkling as she shook her head with a grin. 

“Alright Lord Calamity,” she drew a fake spell circle with her finger, trying to emulate what she had seen Eda and Amity do, “Let’s see the magic that you promised.” Eda grinned, walking over to a green door and beckoning Camila over. Camila walked over, watching as Eda opened the door a crack. 

Peeking inside Camila saw a classroom, almost exactly what she would expect from a typical one from earth, the rows of benches with students, all in blue uniforms, taking notes, the teacher in front of a large chalkboard drawing some diagrams. What was different from a normal classroom was the student laying on the table in front of the class, their arm contorted in a weird angle. 

Camila felt her heart drop at the sight of what was obviously a broken arm, almost lunging forward as Eda put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. Shaking her head she pointed at the teacher, “just watch.” Camila struggled to try not to bite her lip, fighting every instinct to run forward and try to set the bone. 

“Now students,” The professor said, addressing the classroom of students, “Unfortunately for him, Tibres here had an unlucky accident trying to tame a Nyscrilla and took a bit of a tumble.” The student made a groan of pain mixed with embarrassment as the professor patted him on the uninjured shoulder. “Lucky for us today’s unit is on broken limbs!” The flip of paper and scratching of pens contrasted the excited tone of voice that the professor spoke in. 

“Now,” They turned toward the board, chalk hovering and starting to sketch out a rough diagram of an arm as they discussed how to visualize the skin stitching together bones re-connecting. Camila watched, a confused expression on her face as the diagram took shape. It was so unlike the diagrams that she had seen during her classes, the picture only showing a very rough idea of the structure of bones, more a line than a sketch of bones. 

No accounting for the shards of bone that could be displaced when a break was this rough, no explanation of how the healing process worked or what precautions to take for recovery, nothing. The professor walked over, holding up the arm and drawing a blue circle in the air, the arm shimmering slightly before snapping into place. A relieved sigh came from Tibres as the professor proceeded to wrap his arm in a loose bandage before they placed a small patch on it that briefly glowed with blue light. 

“After the setting, make sure to wrap with a clean bandage and seal it off with a glyph and your patient is good to go.” Tibres hopped off the table, wriggling his fingers slightly. “There might be some small discomfort but that will work itself out soon,” they turned to the student, “off you go, try not to get so banged up, or at least schedule it with me.” A small wave of laughter came from the class as Tibres made his exit, the professor turning and drawing a circle in the air as buckets of broken bones levitated next to each desk. 

“Now for the rest of class practice making sure that you can piece these together.” They said, the words growing muffled as Eda closed the door, noticing the look of confusion and distaste on her face. The two of them sat there for a moment, still before Camila jumped up and started to pace back and forth in front of Eda. 

“How could that be a healing class!” she burst out, Eda starting for a moment. “They, they didn’t even have a solid idea of what the bones looked like, or a recovery plan, or, or…” she trailed off, waving her hands in frustration. 

“Well yeah,” Eda said quizzically, “why would you need to know what bones look like if you can just.” she made a little poof of smoke appear from her fingers. “Seems like just an extra step to me.” 

“But imagine the possibilities.” Camila turned to Eda, the witch watching as a star struck expression appeared on the woman’s face. For a moment the look reminded her of Luz, how eager she was to learn magic when she came to the isles. “What if you mixed potions with healing, could you get instant cures? What is gained by just studying one thing, what if you used human knowledge to augment…” Camila trailed off, looking at the large smile that was plastered across Eda’s face. 

“What?” she asked, “Is what I am saying really so new?” Eda chuckled, standing up as she went over, dusting off her hands. 

“Nah Cami, I was just thinking about how similar we are.” Eda gestured around to the room, “I mean what do you think I used this place for? Sure it was nice to have a place to get around quickly and play pranks, but it also let me study every branch of magic that I could. Heck the whole reason that the emperor wants me so much is that I am one of the last wild witches, I refused to bow to his coven system.” 

“Is that the different tracks that Luz and Amity mentioned?” Camila asked, Eda nodding. 

“Yeah exactly. Belos doesn’t think that witches should mix magic, but I think that is a whole load of hogwash.” Eda let the power flow though her, relishing in how easy it flowed here in the Isles as she opened a series of small circles, the symbols for the covens rotating behind her in a large circle. She looked up, grinning inside as she saw the impressed look on Camila’s face. 

-Ha, she had to have been impressed with that one- She let the spell fade, a smirk still present on her face. “The magic can combine and be more powerful without whatever glyphs the emperors coven is putting on people.” 

“I thought that Luz was the first one to do all tracks.” Camila said, tapping her fingers on her chin, “Which one did you end up choosing.” 

Eda smiled fondly, “Potions.” She laughed deeply, walking past a few doors and running her fingers over the wood by the hinges. “Its the most versatile of tracks, and it was the one Lily was in as well.” She found a bright purple door, running her finger along the hinge to find a tiny carved owl. “Here,” she put her hand on the door, “Why don’t I show you one of the labs I had set up when I was in school here, show you the ropes of making a few potions.” 

Camila thought for a moment, checking the phone in her pocket and letting a feeling of relief wash over here that there were no messages from Luz or any of the friends that she was with. Did she have time for this? To see magic, get the chance to try it for herself, maybe come up with something that could help others? That could help her get closer to Luz?

Absolutely. 

“Lead the way Eda.” Eda grinned throwing open the door and walking backwards into the room behind, Camila following her with a small smile. 

“See, when I was younger I got the idea in my head that I could make some extra snails on the side by selling memory potions to other students, even when it was just some fancy apple blood with a bit of a magic kick.” Eda said with a wink as she walked backwards, “And this was the private laboratory that I used.” 

A loud clearing of the throat made her whirl around, taking in a space that was decidedly not the tiny broom closet that she had been remodeled into a lab. Instead most of the space was take up by a large mahogany desk, filing cabinets lining the sides of the room and various odds and ends bolted to the wall. Principal Bump sat behind his desk, on eyebrow raised and an unamused expression on his face. 

Eda sighed, dragging her hand down her face. “I went through the door that had the down owl symbol didn’t I?” 

“It would seem so.” Bump replied dryly, stacking some papers on his desk. He looked past Eda to see Camila standing hesitantly in the doorway. “Now that you are here, you can tell me who you invited onto my campus.”

“Ah come on Bump I like to think this campus belongs to knowledge itself.” Eda unceremoniously dropped into one of the chairs, propping her legs up on the table with a daring grin. 

“And you are?” Bump turned to Camila, waving a finger as the chair spun in mid air, completing a barrel roll before dumping Eda onto the ground. 

“Camila Noceda.” Camila steeled herself fora repeat of the conversation that she had had so many times with pricipals that had met Luz. She sat down, squaring her shoulders and preparing her usual retorts. 

“Noceda, Noceda.” Bump hummed, a file cabinet flying open as a sheet of paper flew over, reading it closely as he muttered to himself. Eda slowly pushed herself up, standing up and leaning on the desk as she cracked her back. 

“Oh! You must be Luz’s mother.” Bump smiled, Camila caught off guard as he turned to Eda. “You didn’t tell me that you were married when you enrolled her.” Eda let out a yelp as she fell to the ground again, loosing all control of her feet as the idea crossed her mind. 

“Oh, oh that isn’t the case.” Camila said, a blush crossing her face. She had never thought of anything like that, not again, not for a long while at least. She watched as Eda groggily got up from the ground, feeling a strange warmth rise in her chest. 

“Eda was simply kind enough to watch Luz for the summer.” Bump nodded, turning back to his paperwork. 

“I had just thought… hmm.” He tapped the desk for a moment, “Are you here to re-enroll her by any chance?” He said, a note of excitement in his voice that made Camila’s thoughts grind to a halt. “She certainly brought a new life to this school, and several teachers were excited to see more of her process of uncovering glyphs.” 

“You… want her to re-enroll?” Camila asked slowly, cringing at how the words sounded aloud. 

“Of course,” Bump slid over a few papers, “We would just need you to sign a few forms in order for her to get started.” 

“What, what is the cost?” Camila asked in a daze. 

“Cost?” Bump almost seemed affronted, “Why would education cost any thing?” He opened his mouth to talk more as Eda noticed the far away look on Camila’s face. 

“How about we think on it Bumpy.” Eda said, swiping the papers and putting them in her hair, slowly helping Camila up. “Give you an answer on that in a bit, got a lot to see, lots to do.” She backed away, closing the door behind them to the central hideaway quickly and etching a big x into the door. 

Camila tapped her fingers together, lost in her thoughts; the idea of Luz being wanted at a school, valued, after so many conversations with Principal Hal. She could understand the draw that it represented, but here, in the Isles? Where magic and danger abound. Where did she go from here. 

“-ey, hey Cami.” Eda gently shook her shoulders, Camila’s sight gradually coming back into focus. “Bit much for one morning huh?” Eda said, trying to crack a joke and getting a small twitch of the smile in response. 

“How about we head on back, stop to get a not-dog and some treats for the kids on the way.” She looped arms with Camila, fighting back a blush as she tried to give support. 

“I for one always feel better with a walk and some food in my stomach.” Eda let staff fall through a yellow portal, Owlbert flying over to nestle against Camila’s neck. 

“In that order of course, vigorous walking after eating is a no go, last time I tried that I got rat bones everywhere.” Eda pulled a face, the ridiculousness of the situation making Camila giggle uncontrollably before giving an undignified snort of laughter. 

“You…” she tried to get through the laughter, Eda’s heart melting at the sight. 

“You know what you are right,” Camila wiped one of her eyes with the back of her hand, pushing up her glasses slightly, “Some food and a walk will do me some good.” She smiled, patting Eda’s arm as they headed towards the exit.

“I know this great place for not-dogs that doesn’t ask too many questions about the wanted posters,” Eda said excitedly, “I have to show you, come on.” She pulled Camila through the hallway, her rambling causing a slow smile to creep over Camila’s face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was something huh?  
> In amazing news! there is more fanart! I will link it in the chapter (14) as well but go check out this amazing piece by a fantastic artist :  
> https://http-primebi.tumblr.com/post/643727254446325760/are-we-about-to-kiss-rn  
> Go show them some love!!! They are great!  
> 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and see you next week!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I have gotta write my take on Amity in the human world, this was bouncing around my brain and I had to write it  
> Find me also at my tumblr which is the same name, JuliaCorvia, stop by any time to talk or with fic ideas  
> Hope to have updates every week, and see where this takes me. always taking suggestions for situations you want to see them in, this fic or otherwise.


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